Vana'diel Potter
by Viral Inque
Summary: Harry is in potions class when he is mysteriously transported to a unfamiliar world call Vana'diel. Stranger still is who else ends up there with him.
1. Disassociation

Vana'diel Potter  
A Fanfic by Viral Inque Author's Note: This is a Harry Potter fic set in FFXI's world of Vana'diel. It was inspired by my own character in FFXI, who's name happens to be Fleurdelacour, though I'm not sure why I chose the name. Stop by and say hi if you see me wandering around the streets of San d'Oria. Anyway, I just moved, so I'm offline for a while till I get resituated. I'm dying to get back, so I'm writing this fic about the origins of my character to pass the time. Let me know what you think, good or bad. Enjoy.  
  
Chapter I: Disassociation  
  
Harry was sitting between Ron and Hermoine in potions class. Professor Snape had just finished berating him on the importance of preparing his ingredients properly before adding them to a potion mixture. Harry was sure he had done his mixing right, and was sure that Professor Snape knew this as well. Malfoy was at the ready, as he often was, to make an attempt to compound Harry's misery. Harry pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment and started scribbling on it, trying his best to ignore Malfoy's taunts.  
  
Malfoy slipped out of his chair while Professor Snape was making notes on the blackboard. He inched his way closer to Harry, until he was in an empty chair at the table directly in front of him. Malfoy stared back at Harry coyly through his beady gray eyes. Harry saw Professor Snape turn around to address the class, but when he saw Malfoy, he turned back to the blackboard and continued to write. Ron and Hermoine stared at Malfoy suspiciously, Hermoine's fist raised in silent menace. Harry continued to write on his sheet of parchment, his arm resting in front of him and his head low to shield what he was doing.  
  
As if sensing Snape's consent to the act, Malfoy reached over towards Harry and dropped something into Harry's cauldron, where he had been making his potion. Harry's potion turned from a milky white to a crystalline blue and started shooting sparks. Harry pushed his cauldron away carefully without looking at it. He was concentrating on putting the finishing touches on what he had been writing on his parchment.  
  
When he was satisfied with his work, Harry showed the parchment to Malfoy, who was grinning and looking quite pleased with himself. Professor Snape wheeled around at the same exact moment and stared right at Harry with a vindictive sneer. Harry, of course, knew Snape had been waiting for his chance to nail him, but he didn't care. Sometimes you have to give back, he thought. As his gaze fell on the paper, Malfoy's face turned as pale as porcelain, then red as a beet.  
  
Ron and Hermoine leaned forward to look at what was written on the parchment. Soon, as a bestial growl emanated from Professor Snape in a pitched crescendo, the whole class turned to Harry as well. The room gasped and Harry smiled, as his face flushed from the sudden attention, in spite of himself. Ron and Hermoine tried to snatch the parchment out of Harry's hand, but it was too late.  
  
On the piece of parchment was scribbled, in surprisingly accurate rendition, two caricatures. If you couldn't tell by looking, two names were written neatly above each character. One said Malfoy, and the one next to it said Snape. Both of them were bent low to the ground, their faces pressed against a snake curled up in front of them. Above the snake, 'you-know-who' was written. The two faces on the caricatures were puckered up, and it looked as if they were supposed to be kissing the snake's backside.  
  
After a moment of muted suspense, Seamus Finnigan let out a stifled chuckle, followed closely by several more from other Gryffindor students. This seemed to incense Professor Snape more, and he came charging across the room towards Harry with a look on his face that made Harry start to wonder if maybe he had done the wrong thing. Harry's potion continued to fizz and spark deviously in front of him as Harry defiantly persisted in holding up the portrait of the two. Malfoy's look of repulsion was replaced by one of smug satisfaction as Snape breezed past him, his cape flapping wildly.  
  
Ron had to jump out of the way to keep Snape from barreling over him to get to Harry. Hermoine decided it might be best to do the same. In their haste, they bumped the table, and Ron's potion's work spilled across the desk. Snape stopped dead in his tracks, his face less then a foot from Harry's and his hand wrapped tightly around Harry's arm. Harry followed Snape's gaze to the spilled potion on the table as one of the sparks from Harry's potion jumped out of his cauldron and landed in the puddle of liquid on the desk.  
  
They had been working on an assignment that required them to used mandrake root as the main ingredient of their potion, but nothing more specific then that. Harry didn't know what Ron had been working on, but he soon found out what it did when it was combined with Harry's. A thin column of glowing blue smoke shot up towards the ceiling. The faces of everyone in the classroom followed it as it quickly rose upwards. The smoke began to pool as it hit the ceiling, billowing and spreading across the room.  
  
Everyone watched closely as the smoke continued to swell, backing away towards the walls to keep from under it. Snape squeezed Harry's arm tighter and started dragging him away from his desk and the spreading smoke, eyeing the mass above them suspiciously. Despite wanting to get clear of the smoke, Harry struggled to get loose of Snape's grasp, refusing to be led around by him. As he fought to get free from Snape, he looked back in time to see the string of smoke break away from the desk. Harry heard Ron and Hermoine calling for him to get away from there, and then everything around him went black. Professor Snape's hand closed into a fist as Harry's arm, as well as the rest of him, disappeared entirely.  
  
Harry made a deliberate attempt to open and close his eyes. He couldn't see anything but darkness in front of him and he began to feel panicky. Instinctively, he fumbled around in his robes until he found his wand. "Lumos!" he screamed, and saw the faintest light where his wand might be, but it faded so fast it might as well have done nothing at all.  
  
He thought he might have gone blind, but something else was wrong. Everything, the classroom, his classmates- were all gone, or he had left them somehow. He felt like he was being pushed at an alarming speed through a black hole. He was sure of this because he could feel the darkness, could feel its infinite, cold embrace. Harry began to shake uncontrollably as memories of the dementors flooded his memory. He continued to tumble through nothingness for some time, and soon he couldn't tell whether he was flying forward or falling down or how long he'd been there or even where he had come from.  
  
When it started to look like there'd be no end to the gloom, Harry began to desperately grope at the air, looking for something to hold onto to. It felt like if he didn't do something drastic soon, his heart would beat right out of his chest. Harry's hand went to his mouth as his stomach threatened to empty itself of it contents.  
  
He thought he saw a ball of pale light pop in his field of vision, like after you looked at the sun for too long, but he dismissed it as all hope began to escaped him. Another ball of light flashed and he wondered if he was about to pass out. His stomach lurched and he felt hot acid try to push up his throat. Suddenly, a series of flashbulb-like globes exploded around him, making him blink hard. He was sure he was heading towards something, or something was heading for him, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. He readied his wand for either.  
  
Soon he saw he was right, as the area around him became more detailed. The black began to fade slowly and crude shapes started to take form in shades of gray. Harry shook his head to make sure he wasn't just imagining it all and it felt like someone was banging his head against a brick wall. He rubbed his temples with a grimace, and the world around him continued to take shape. By the time he came to his senses, he found himself sitting in a vast, green, meadow. He absently ran a hand through the soft, moist, grass that surrounded him on all sides.  
  
When he was sure it was safe, Harry let himself fall back into the tall grass. He took deep breaths of cool, clean air, and after a while, he almost felt good. Once his eyes had readjusted to the light, he looked up at an unspoiled, clear, sky. It dawned on him that he had been in potions class and now he wasn't. He sat up and his head protested violently to the movement.  
  
He pushed the pain in his head aside and surveyed his surroundings. He saw that there was someone else laying in the grass nearby. He couldn't see the persons face, but she seemed to be a girl roughly about his size and age. She had beautiful, long, shiny hair that looked like it could almost be white. She seemed to be trying to pick herself off the ground, pushing up onto her elbows and shaking the cobwebs out of her head, just like he had just done. Harry thought maybe it'd be a good idea to see if she was okay and if maybe she could help him. He got to his feet gingerly and had taken just two steps toward the girl when he realized who it was.  
  
"Fleur?" Harry called as he came sprinting across the field, tripping over a rock hidden in the tall grass, "Fleur!"  
  
Fleur Delacour, the girl who had come to Hogwart's the year before from Beauxbaton's to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, looked around her in a daze until her and Harry's eyes met. For a moment she looked confused, and Harry thought she didn't remember him, or maybe she'd bumped her head and had developed amnesia.  
  
"'Arry? Potter?" she said sleepily, rubbing her head with a sour look on her pretty face, "What is going on 'ere?"  
  
"You don't know?" Harry asked, sounding a little disappointed.  
  
Fleur stared at the ground in front of a her quietly, a look of intense concentration furrowing her brow. After a while, she shook her head. "I'm not sure. I don't understand how I got 'ere," she shrugged, then looked around her questioningly, "Wait, where are we?"  
  
"I don't know," Harry said nervously. When he'd seen Fleur, he'd been hoping she'd be able to tell him something about what was going on, "I was just in class, and Malfoy had put something in my potion, then Ron's and mine's got mixed tog-"  
  
Harry froze and thought hard for a second. What if what had happened in Snape's class had triggered him and Fleur winding up here? If only he knew what was in Ron's potion he might have a better idea, but he didn't. He didn't even know if any of this was possible.  
  
He finished explaining what happened to Fleur. She didn't say anything at first, just looked off at nothing with that same look of deep focus. Harry couldn't help but notice that she looked even more beautiful when she wasn't trying to be.  
  
"I don't think zat is it, 'Arry," she said finally with a shake of her head, her flowing hair whipping back and forth, "'Ow would zat explain 'ow I got 'ere?"  
  
"Oh, I guess it wouldn't," Harry sighed glumly. He thought he should feel better to be off the hook on being responsible for what was going on, but these kinds of things always happened to Harry, so he just couldn't be sure.  
  
"But," Fleur continued, looking slightly embarrassed, "To tell you ze truth, I don't know if maybe it isn't some'ow my fault. I was in my room when I disappeared, just like you said you did. I had been studying for my Apparating License. I won't even be able to sign up for it till later zis year, but I've been so excited about it I couldn't 'elp myself. I thought maybe I could get away with trying to disapparate from one side of my bed and apparate on ze other, just as practice. I was in ze middle of giving it a try when it happened."  
  
"I don't know," Harry thought out loud. He watched Fleur absently plucking blades of grass out of the ground with her thin, pale hands. He noticed he had been doing it too, and felt the blood rushing to his face. He nervously put his hands in his robes. "That wouldn't explain how I got here, either."  
  
"No, I suppose not," Fleur said with a relieved smile, "So we don't know where we are or 'ow we got 'ere. What should we do now?"  
  
Harry considered this question carefully. It wasn't strange enough that he had just disappeared out of potions class and into a field in the middle of nowhere, but what was Fleur doing here? She had gotten there much the same way he had. So he guessed there had to be a link between them somewhere. Could it be another ploy by Voldemort? But if it was, what did Fleur have to do with it?  
  
Harry figured they wouldn't find out by just sitting there. He stood up and walked around in a circle slowly. They were sitting roughly on the top of a short hill. Behind them, down a fairly steep drop and half a mile through more tall grass, was a run down, abandoned, old barn with half its roof missing. To their left, he could just catch sight of a dirt road off in the distance. Aside from that, there really wasn't much else to look at.  
  
"I guess we'll take that road," Harry said, pointing it out. Fleur had to squint hard to even see it. "We'll have to run into someone who can help us out eventually."  
  
"Maybe we can find out where ze local ministry is," Fleur added hopefully, "Zey would be able to get us 'ome at least."  
  
"Good idea," Harry added, confident that everything would be alright as soon as they found someone to point them in the right direction.  
  
The road turned out to not be much of a road at all. It wasn't more then four feet from one end to the other and no car could really have driven across it. Fleur looked down the road in both directions doubtfully. In the end, they decided it was a road one way or another and after some debate, they chose a direction and started walking.  
  
"So how have you been, Fleur?" Harry asked after a while, trying to strike up some conversation.  
  
"Well, I supposed, till about five minutes ago," Fleur said distantly, preoccupied with examining a grass stain on her silky robes, "And you?"  
  
"Okay, I guess," Harry answered, but it didn't seem to him that Fleur was listening.  
  
They continued to walk down the path and slowly the plants got taller and taller on either side of them until Harry couldn't see anything but the road ahead or behind of him. Fleur didn't say anything, but would occasionally let out a long and deliberate sigh. She seemed to be growing more and more agitated the further they walked. Harry began to grow more and more uncomfortable the longer the silence dragged on. He searched desperately for something to talk about.  
  
"I wonder what this could all be about, you know, us being here, wherever here is?" Harry said casually, and wondered why he hadn't been thinking about just that. Of course, it could very well be the work of Voldemort, or his Death Eaters. They had been quiet of late, but by no means did that mean the wizarding world was out of the woods yet, and certainly not Harry. But none of this seemed to have their name written on it. Still, you usually never knew till it was too late.  
  
Up ahead of them, Harry thought he saw something move, but when he looked there was nothing there except a large rock that partially blocked the road coming up. Suddenly, the rock wheeled around to reveal an ugly face with a smile full of razor sharp, blood crusted teeth. Whatever it was, it let out a raspy howl and, brandishing a sword, started to slowly amble its way towards them.  
  
Harry started backpedaling away from the thing and tripped over his own feet, throwing up dry dirt as he landed on the dusty road. He groped in his robes until he found his wand and pointed it at the creature with a shaky hand. He got back to his feet quickly but deliberately, keeping both eyes on the creature. It wasn't moving very fast, so Harry thought it would be best to back away so he could keep his wand on it at all times. Fleur stood frozen in place, staring blankly ahead of her with her arms hanging limply by her sides.  
  
Harry cursed under his breath. He jumped in front of Fleur and started waving his hands in front of her face. "Fleur! Fleur! We gotta go!" he pleaded. Fleur blinked but refused to move. Harry tried to think of something fast, shifting nervously and turning back to look for the creature, who was getting dangerously close. He could see a hide of spikes like a dinosaurs running along its arms and the top of its head.  
  
All Harry could think to do was to reach up and smack Fleur across the face. Instantly, she came back to her senses, glowering at Harry intensely. He pointed behind him with his thumb. He could now smell the monster's overpowering body odor and rancid breath that reeked of rotting meat. Fleur gasped, grabbed Harry by the arm, and started running back the way they had come. Fleur was surprisingly fast, and Harry had to work to keep up with her as she dragged him along. He looked back to see that the creature had stopped its pursuit.  
  
"Wait! Fleur, he's not chasing us anymore," he cried, trying to make her stop. She looked back, and when she was satisfied that they were safe, stopped running and let go of Harry's arm. They both bent over and tried to catch their breaths.  
  
"What was that?" Fleur panted.  
  
"Dunno," Harry answered, grabbing at a stitch in his side, "But I'm guessing we can't go that way."  
  
They examined the foliage to either side of the road. It was too tall and thick to walk through. They had no choice but to go back the way they had come. Fleur said something coldly in what Harry guessed was French. Harry sighed and wished he was back in potions class.


	2. Trial by Fire

Vana'diel Potter  
A Fanfic by Viral Inque Author's Note: This is a Harry Potter fic set in FFXI's world of Vana'diel. It was inspired by my own character in FFXI, who's name happens to be Fleurdelacour, though I'm not sure why I chose the name. Stop by and say hi if you see me wandering around the streets of San d'Oria. Just a couple of more days and I'll be back online. I'm dying to get back, but I'll continue writing this fic about the origins of my character to pass the time until then. Let me know what you think, good or bad. Enjoy.  
  
Chapter II: Trial by Fire  
  
Soon after they started heading back down the dirt path, the sky began to darken as night loomed overhead. Harry thought back to the ramshackle barn he had seen at the bottom of the hill they had started from. They agreed they had to find somewhere to spend the night and that would be the best place for it. They accidentally passed by the barn as the darkness grew around them and they had to double back until they found it.  
  
The barn was in worse shape then it had seemed from a distance. They eyed the roof suspiciously, but it seemed that it would hold. From a hole in one side of the barn they could see more tall grass growing inside through gaps in the floor. They squeezed through the hole carefully and found a clearing in the center of the barn under an exposed part of the roof.  
  
"We should get a fire going," Harry said thoughtfully.  
  
"I suppose," Fleur answered glumly. Through the dim, Harry saw Fleur lift her wand. "Lumos," she whispered, annunciating the word carefully. Her wand let off a faint light from its tip, hardly enough to illuminate her face. She looked at it with displeasure.  
  
Harry tried to do the same. His wand let off a similar pale light that wasn't nearly as strong as it should be. He shook his wand until the light went out and tried it again, with the same result. Fleur squinted at Harry questioningly. Harry shrugged his shoulders and lowered his wand close to the ground, looking for some dry wood to start a fire with. After some time, Fleur sighed and did the same.  
  
Soon they had enough twigs and branches for the fire. Harry arranged them all carefully into a pile and pointed his wand at it. "Incendio," he cried, and several birds roosting in the rafters above them took flight. A sad little flame spit out of the tip of his wand, no bigger then a match light. It flickered for a second, then went out.  
  
"Our magic isn't working right," Harry mumbled pensively.  
  
"I got zat impression," Fleur responded sardonically. She walked over and pointed her wand at the pile. She nodded at Harry and he did the same.  
  
"Incendio," they both said at the same time. Identical, match light flames shot out of their wands. They landed in the pile of twigs and leaves and danced miserable, threatening to go out. Before they could, Harry and Fleur repeated the charm, then again, until a slow fire started. They sat down and watched it carefully until it seemed strong enough.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Fleur asked gloomily, poking at the fire with a stick.  
  
"I don't know," Harry said, watching the fire spark and flash through a haze of smoke, "I supposed we'll try that road again in the morning. In the opposite direction of whatever that thing was we ran into. Once we find someone, we'll have some idea of where we are or something."  
  
"I 'ate zis," Fleur snapped, now stabbing at the fire, sending cinders floating up into the air, "Why do I 'ave to be stuck 'ere? And what did I do to deserve this?"  
  
"I'm sorry," Harry muttered, not sure what he was supposed to say. If he had to be stuck here, he wished it could've it have been with Ron or Hermoine, or even Neville.  
  
"I didn't mean it like zat," Fleur moaned, tossing the stick into the fire, "It's just frustrating, is all. Don't you understand zat zis is worse zen we thought? Our magic doesn't work right 'ere. Zis is someplace very far from 'ome, I zink."  
  
"I see," Harry thought, and he realized the truth in Fleur's words. They were somewhere where magic was different then it was at home, which meant they were probably nowhere near home. That sat in silence for some time and Harry thought this over. The sound of his stomach grumbling brought him back to his senses.  
  
"'Ere," Fleur said as she fumbled in her robes. She produced what looked like a miniature cauldron cake from one of the pockets and passed it to Harry from around the fire. "I took it from ze cafeteria in case I wanted a snack before dinner, but I'm not very 'ungry."  
  
"Thanks," Harry said graciously as he took the cake, feeling slightly embarrassed by his stomach. The cake tasted delicious, but soon it was gone and he found his stomach was still less then satisfied. He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, to stifle any further protests.  
  
Another long silence followed as the minutes, then hours, crawled by. After a while, partly due to his discomfort at the deadened conversation, Harry got up and searched for some more branches and kindling to fuel the fire before it decided to go out. When he had enough to not only keep the fire going, but to burn the place down if so chose, he went back and sat down.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm not better company," Fleur said after a pause, sensing Harry's discomfort, "I'm not big on ze small talk."  
  
"It's alright," Harry responded sincerely, "I don't want you to feel like you have to talk to me."  
  
"It's not zat I don't want to, I zink" Fleur said thoughtfully, "But you are unusual compared to ze others. I'm used to most guys getting all weird when zey are around me. I guess that doesn't bother me too much. I am used to it anyway. But I don't know what to zink when someone doesn't act zat way."  
  
"Because you're part Veela, right?" Harry asked curiously, "Do you wonder if that person just doesn't like you if they aren't taken in by that side of you?"  
  
"Yes," Fleur said, watching the fire kick out more flames as Harry threw a few more twigs on it, "And yes, something like zat. Please understand zat I don't mean to enchant people. The easiest way to explain it is to say zat it just 'appens. I can try to turn it off, but it takes a lot of effort. So it is unusual for someone to fight it without 'elp."  
  
"Really, I never knew that," Harry mused, "I did notice that I had to hit pretty hard Ron before he'd snapped out of it once he got into you."  
  
"Oi, you're friend Ron," Fleur exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically, "'E is a good example. But 'e is, no offense, a little creepier than most."  
  
Harry laughed out loud as he pictured how Ron would get loopy when Fleur walked by. "Well, that makes a little more sense now," he said when he got his composure, "Well, if it makes you feel better, I have nothing against you, Fleur. I have a lot of respect for you, too, after the Triwizard Tournament and everything."  
  
"Really? I didn't zink I did zat well," Fleur remarked, almost shyly.  
  
"Sure," Harry replied, surprised that it was possible for someone like Fleur to feel insecure. He was pleased, however, to find out he had been wrong about Fleur in some regards. She had seemed so distant in the past, so out of reach, but talking to her now, she seemed just like any other kid their age.  
  
"Thank you, 'Arry," Fleur smiled, and Harry became captivated by her, not because she was part Veela, but just because. She covered her mouth as a yawn escaped, "It must be late. Do you zink it'd be okay for us to get a little sleep?"  
  
"I'm not that tired, really," Harry said, "You get some rest. I'll keep watch, just in case."  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked politely.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Harry answered, waving her question away.  
  
Fleur examined the area around her critically, then decided on one spot that looked the least unpleasant. Without thinking, Harry took off his robes, making sure he had his wand with him. He folded his robes, and then again and again, until they made a makeshift pillow. He tried to pass it to Fleur without a word. She looked at it, taken aback slightly, then kindly refused it. Harry insisted and Fleur took the pillow with a smile.  
  
Once she was finally settled, it wasn't long before she was fast asleep. Harry found himself watching Fleur sleep, studying the rhythmic pace of her soft breathing. He felt he was being rude by doing this, so he tried to find something else to concentrate on. From time to time, he'd check on the fire, amusing himself with the way the flames danced around for him when he poked at them.  
  
The time seemed to come to a crawl around him again, and he kept thinking that the sun should be coming up soon, but the sky above him remained dark. Harry searched the pockets of his jeans as his stomach started to rumble again, looking unsuccessfully for any long lost sweets from Honeydukes or even from last Halloween. He sighed and Fleur stirred soundlessly in her sleep.  
  
Harry's head had sleepily come to rest on his knee when he thought he heard a sound from directly behind him. He whipped around instantly, his wand already in his hand and raised in the direction of the noise, for all the god it would have done him. When after a while, nothing happened, Harry shook his head dreamily and poked at the fire some more to stay occupied.  
  
After a while, Harry's head once again got heavy as sleep tried to take over. No sooner had his eyes closed, that he heard another sound behind him. He was sure he'd heard it this time, and he was on his feet in a flash.  
  
He tried to stand perfectly still, listening carefully for any sound coming from the area. He moved his head around slowly from left to right, like a lighthouse beacon, looking for any signs of movement. When he neither heard nor saw anything, he took a step forward and repeated the process. He inched his way closer, step by step, to where the sound had originated from. Soon, he was just outside of the hole they had come in from. Suddenly, as he took one more step forward, there was a sudden rush of movement to his left right near his foot.  
  
Something had jumped into the air, trying to get away from Harry when he had drawn too close. "Lumos," he whispered, waving his wand frantically when the dim light appeared, searching the area in front of him for what had jumped. Then he saw it, cowering slyly behind a nearby rock. It was a harmless rabbit, or so Harry thought. When the light focused on it, it jumped from behind the rock.  
  
It turned out the creature only had a passing resemblance to a rabbit. First, it was more like the size of a potbelly pig. It had long ears like a rabbit, but these were oversized and had thick bristles sticking out at all angles. It had two large teeth that looked like the ones on the thing they had run into on the road early. It bared these and hissed at Harry threateningly.  
  
That was all Harry needed to hear. "Expelliarmus," Harry hissed, pointing his wand at the creature. A light red light shot from his wand, then died and landed in front of the rabbit-thing's feet. It feinted a charge then hissed at Harry again. Harry took a step back uneasily.  
  
"Expelliarmus," he cried, saying it louder. His voice echoed through the night. The light soared in an arc through the air and landed on the top of the creature's head. There was an instant reaction, but not the one Harry expected. The creature started jumping around madly, making strange squealing noises. Harry had to back up against the wall of the barn just to keep from getting hit by the thing as it bounced around. Suddenly, it stopped and fell to the ground, motionless.  
  
Harry took an uneasy step forward. He lit the tip of his wand once more and lifted it into the air to let some light into the area. The rabbit-thing not only looked dead, but it was smoldering and melting. A rotten smell wafted into the air. Soon, there was nothing left to the thing but a pile of slime. There seemed to be something glimmering among the remains.  
  
Sure now that the thing had to be dead, he walked up to it and bent down to get a closer look. He had to cover his nose and mouth to suppress the odor. There was definitely something there, covered in the remains of the creature. Harry swallowed hard and tried to pick up the thing shining on the ground. The slime was slippery and clammy and he had trouble getting a hold of the object. Finally, he wrapped his hand around it and plucked it out.  
  
He had to turn away as the smell of the slime on his hands got close to his nose. He rolled the object, and his hand, in the grass until they were both more or less clean. The odor was still horrible, but lessened enough so that Harry could hold up the object at eye level to get a better look at it. He angled his wand from one side to the next, like an antenna, until he could see the object clearly.  
  
Harry's brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at a clear, copper colored crystal. He flipped it around in his hand, but couldn't make much sense of it. There was no rational reason this would have been inside of anything that had once been alive. Harry considered tossing it, but decided it was better to keep it just in case. They knew nothing about this place, and anything they could get their hands on would give them more information then they could get without it. He rubbed the crystal in the grass some more to get the stink off it, then put it in a pocket of his jeans.  
  
He stuck his head through the hole in the wall. Surprisingly, Fleur was still sleeping quietly inside. He illuminated the barn with his wand held high and examined the room. There was a large sliding door on the wall opposite the one Harry looked through. Harry walked around the barn to the other side, eyeing the area around him nervously. There was a chain and a oversized padlock on the door. That meant the hole in the wall they had come through was the only way in or out of the barn short of the hard to reach chasm of missing roof.  
  
Harry walked back towards the hole in the wall. He thought he heard something again, but couldn't find anything. When he got back, he stuck his head into the barn to check on Fleur and to examine the room again. Fleur was sleeping quietly and the room seemed perfectly still. He double checked on the latter before he slumped down on the ground in front of the hole going into the barn, letting out a long sigh on the way down.  
  
Unfortunately, this meant he was within smelling distance of what was left of the rabbit-thing. But he was getting tired in spite of all the activity, and he was afraid he might fall asleep. If nothing could get inside, then there should be nothing for him to worry about. If he did fall asleep, he'd do it sitting up and the slightest noise would surely wake him.  
  
Satisfied with his plan, despite the fact that the air was considerable colder away from the fire, Harry relaxed a little and watched the evening sky glittering with a million stars. He tried to see if he could find any familiar constellations, in an effort to confirm he was still in the same dimension. He could only laugh when he didn't see any, not even the two, easy to spot dippers.  
  
The night sky had lightened to a pastel blue by the time Harry yawned one last time and fell asleep with his head resting on his knee.


	3. Up the Right Tree

Vana'diel Potter  
A Fanfic by Viral Inque Author's Note: This is a Harry Potter fic set in FFXI's world of Vana'diel. It was inspired by my own character in FFXI, who's name happens to be Fleurdelacour. Stop by and say hi if you see me wandering around the streets of San d'Oria. I'm back in San d'Oria again, which is great, but I'm having trouble setting aside time for my story. But I'll continue writing this fic as long as you want to read it. Let me know what you think, good or bad. Enjoy.  
  
Chapter III: Up the Right Tree  
  
Harry was awakened by something hitting him from behind. He looked back sleepily to see Fleur standing behind him, rubbing her eyes and kneeing him softly in the back through the gap in the barn wall. She yawned and dropped Harry's robes on his head. Harry felt uneasy at the idea of waking up to find a girl standing over him.  
  
"I'm sorry, 'Arry, but we 'ave to move," Fleur said through a yawn.  
  
Harry stood up and stretched. His neck was sore from sleeping in an awkward position. He looked up see it was early morning, as the sky was still lightening. He couldn't have been asleep for more then two hours. It was also still chilly, and he gratefully slipped his robes back on.  
  
"We 'ave to get something to eat soon, too. I'm starving," Fleur continued, nudging him out of the way so she could step out of the barn. She stretched like a cat and yawned again. Harry actually froze in amazement at the sight of how perfect she still looked after a full nights sleep. "What?" she asked when she noticed him looking at her.  
  
"Nothing," Harry blushed. He checked to see that the fire was completely extinguished, and they headed out immediately.  
  
Harry felt miserable. He wanted to brush his teeth, to take a shower, and to sit in the Great Hall for a bowl of hot porridge. Then he'd sleep for the rest of the day or two. Instead, all he could do was drag himself along the dusty path, kicking up clouds of dirt behind him. His shook his head dreamily as he realized he'd almost forgotten the events of just a few hours earlier.  
  
He told Fleur everything that had happened with the rabbit-thing he had run into, embellishing his story a little without thinking about it. He showed her the crystal the creature had left behind after it shriveled up.  
  
"It's not very pretty, is it?" Fleur said, turning her head at the smell still lingering on the crystal, "What does it do?"  
  
Harry shrugged lazily and pocketed the stone. The two didn't say much after that, both too tired and too hungry to really want to bother. They walked sluggishly along the path until the sun was high in the sky above them. Fleur insisted they stop for a minute, and Harry fell thankfully to the ground.  
  
"I can't take much more of zis," Fleur moaned, clutching at her stomach.  
  
"Me neither," Harry sighed, looking guiltily at Fleur holding her stomach, having eaten her only food last night.  
  
They wouldn't make it very far if they didn't have the energy to walk. It certainly didn't seem like they would be running into civilization any time soon. Harry forced his brain into action in the early hour to try and find a solution to the problem. He look at the sides of the road, which had been repopulated by giant, bamboo-like plants that impeded progress in any direction but along the dirt pathway. He kicked at the plants, but they didn't so much as give an inch.  
  
An idea occurred to Harry. They hadn't run into one person, not a human one at least, since they had gotten there almost a day ago. So it was safe to assume that the area they had been moving through was fairly uninhabited, aside from the well worn road they had been walking on.  
  
"Wouldn't you think there'd be some fruit trees or berry bushes around here somewhere, since there aren't people around here to eat them?" Harry asked hopefully.  
  
"What are you getting at, 'Arry?" Fleur asked, intrigued by the question.  
  
"Well, since no people live anywhere nearby, if there was, say, an apple tree nearby, it wouldn't have been harvested to sell at markets or whatever," Harry said excitedly, his idea sounding better the more it formed in his head, "And frankly, the only animals we've seen in the area so far seem to be carnivores exclusively, so-"  
  
"Zere's a chance zere's food we can eat somewhere around 'ere," Fleur finished, looking optimistic, "But there is also a chance zat zere isn't any such zing as fruit 'ere. Do you zink it is worth checking out?"  
  
"I think so," Harry answered.  
  
"What are we talking about?" Fleur said, her optimism replaced by concern, "'Ow are we supposed to look for anything, when we can't go anywhere but forward?"  
  
Fleur pointed first to her left, then to her right, at the bamboo-like plants. Harry's heart sank. He never would have thought, after all he had been through, that he'd end up starving to death.  
  
"Wait!" Fleur screamed, jumping to her feet, sending several birds hanging around the road into the air, "Come 'ere, 'Arry!"  
  
Harry stood up and walked over next to Fleur. He looked at her, puzzled and waiting for instruction.  
  
"Oh, sorry, get on your knees, 'Arry," Fleur stated simply, pointing down at the ground in front of her.  
  
"What?" Harry cried, clearly confused.  
  
"Just do it," Fleur sighed, putting a hand on her hip, "You'll see."  
  
Harry did as he was told, unperturbed by getting the knees of his jeans dirty, since he was already filthy with dry dirt from the road. Fleur placed a foot on Harry's back, then tentatively, the other. Fleur hardly looked very heavy, so Harry was surprised as his back cracked under her weight. She shook unsteadily as she tried to balance herself on Harry's back. Harry winced as he struggled to hold Fleur up. Then Fleur went on her tiptoes, focusing her weight, and Harry's pain, on an even smaller area of his back.  
  
Finally, Fleur was stable and Harry chanced a look as far up as he could. She was looking over the plants on the side of the road, scanning the area beyond them carefully. Harry's body shook again as Fleur slowly turned around to look down the opposite side. He fought to keep his arms from trembling, not wanting to admit to his extreme discomfort.  
  
"It's 'opeless," Fleur moaned, and Harry could feel her sighing and slumping her shoulders. Harry pleaded in his mind for Fleur to get off of him, but she seemed to be standing there thinking. She turned again, this time facing the road in the direction they had been walking.  
  
"Zere!" she cried, and Harry groaned as he fought to keep Fleur balanced while she made a sudden movement, presumably pointing at something. "Zere is a small grove of trees up ahead. It could be anything, but it looks very promising."  
  
"Good," Harry groaned, "Let's go. Now."  
  
Fleur slowly climbed down off Harry. As they continued walking down the road, Harry kept a step or two behind Fleur so he could nurse his aching back. When Fleur thought they might have walked far enough, she asked Harry to get down on his knees again. She explained that they had a little while longer to go.  
  
They walked some more, and for a third time Harry had to bend down so Fleur could stand on his back. She quickly got back down, much to Harry's relief. She took five calculated strides back the way they had come. She stopped and stood there, pointing at the bamboo plants in front of her.  
  
"It's zis way," she announced.  
  
"That's great, Fleur," Harry said, "But now what?"  
  
"Ze same as with ze fire last night, I supposed," Fleur shrugged.  
  
They stood shoulder to shoulder, pointing their wands at the same strand of thick branches. "Expelliarmus!" they both shouted. The first couple of rows of plants parted like they were bending in a hard breeze, only to reveal more.  
  
They repeated the process over and over, until both their voices started going hoarse. It was difficult moving, in a very tight space, and they had to lean on the branches to keep them from bending back. Soon, Harry was dizzy from the exertion and lack of food. To his surprise, Fleur pressed on relentlessly and without seeming to tire, a fine sweat forming on her forehead.  
  
After what felt like an eternity, the branches seemed like they were starting to thin. This propelled Harry forward, determined to reach his goal. He tried not to entertain the idea that they could be heading towards nothing special- nothing they could eat anyway. With one last casting of the charm, the branches parted and then there were instantly no more. Instead, they found themselves standing in front of a glittering pond. The water was so clear you could see colorful little fish swimming around in the pristine water.  
  
"Wow," Harry stated, watching a toad, or something like one, hop out of the water and onto a water lily.  
  
"Yeah, I didn't even see ze pond from ze road," Fleur looked around her in awe.  
  
Beyond the pond, there was a small cluster of lush trees. They seemed so out of place compared to the rough, emotionless branches they had just waded through. From the trees hung white, pear shaped fruit the size of grapefruits. Harry's mouth watered uncontrollably.  
  
"Do you see what I see?" Harry smiled, pointing up at the trees.  
  
"Yes, yes I do," Fleur laughed, and they ran, almost skipped actually, around the pond and to the nearest tree.  
  
The fruit on the trees was so heavy that the branches holding them bent down to meet then eagerly. They each plucked two nice sized pieces and plopped down to the ground where they were standing. The skin of the fruit was rough and fuzzy, but once you ripped through that you found a juicy, creamy inside. Harry thought they tasted like a pineapple and mango smoothie, if there was such a thing.  
  
Etiquette went out the window as the two of them ripped into the fruits and filled their empty stomachs. It was like a scene from a documentary on cave people. They communicated with grunts and hand signals and they wiped their mouths on the sleeves of their robes. After finishing their first piece, they paused long enough to smile at each other and give a thumbs up sign before digging into their second pieces.  
  
When he was done, Harry tossed his empty rind aside casually, and fell back onto the soft grass, taking a moment to catch his breath. He felt like he'd just eaten a slice of heaven. Food had never tasted so good. Soon after, Fleur tossed the hollow skin of her fruit aside and smacked her lips in delight.  
  
"I sure 'ope zose weren't poisonous," Fleur stated nonchalantly.  
  
"I would die happily," Harry laughed. After a slight pause, he added thoughtfully, "Say, what would you say to some fish?"  
  
"I would say zat would make my day," Fleur smiled, looking at Harry hopefully with a raised eyebrow, "What do you propose?"  
  
Harry sat up and eyed the pond, trying to formulate a plan of attack. He watched the fish swimming blithely through the water, oblivious to their presence. The more he thought about it, the more he became determined to get his hands on one of them, and his stomach egged him on silently. Unfortunately, he really didn't see how he could do it.  
  
"Well," Harry said, half to himself, "There is one way."  
  
"Yes?" Fleur implored probingly.  
  
Harry got to his feet and threw off his robes, then tossed his wand carefully on top of them. Fleur watched him closely. Harry proceeded to kick off his sneakers and socks. Then he rolled the legs of his pants up to his knees.  
  
"You can't be serious, 'Arry Potter," Fleur sniggered in disbelief.  
  
"Sink or swim, Fleur. I don't plan on sharing," Harry smiled, taunting and daring Fleur to follow him as he walked towards the pond.  
  
Fleur stood up and took a step forward, then a second, but stopped short hesitantly. She watched Harry step into the water in amusement. She felt silly doing it, but she took off her robes and kicked off her shoes. She waded into the water and turned to Harry.  
  
"What now? We're supposed to make like bears?" she asked, shaking her head, unable to believe what she was doing.  
  
"Unless you got a better idea," Harry shrugged, "Those fish sure look tasty."  
  
"Oh, fine," Fleur sighed.  
  
They both plunged their hands into the shallow, cool water. Their efforts to keep their clothes dry was wasted as water splashed up on Harry's jeans and Fleur's pleated blue skirt. They waited for the water to stop rippling so they could clearly see down into the pond. The colorful fish that made the pond home scattered when they plunged their hands in, then went on about their business once the water calmed. They scampered casually through their legs and around their still hands.  
  
Harry was the first to make a move. He clasped his hands together as a fish scurried between his hands. The fish slipped out of his grasp effortlessly and swam on unperturbed. Fleur watched this intently, and took a go at it when a fish brushed by her left hand. She grabbed the fish's tail between her thumb and index finger. The fish flopped around madly as Fleur tried to pluck him out of the water, and slipped free before he even broke the surface of the pond.  
  
Fleur growled under her breath. She starting snatching at every fish that came near here, splashing more water on their clothes. All the fish wisely moved away from them. Harry shot Fleur a frustrated look, which she returned by sticking her tongue out at him.  
  
"Why are we doing zis," Fleur said, standing up straight and placing her hands on her hips, "We are already wet."  
  
Fleur waded out of the pond and back to where their belongings were sitting. She grabbed her robe, then after a moments consideration took Harry's instead, and walked back into the water.  
  
"'Ere, take one end," she said, snapping the robe in the air, which Harry caught clumsily in midair.  
  
They dipped Fleur's robe into the water about six inches, and spread it out as far as it would go. The pond itself wasn't more then a foot deep top to bottom, and soon fish could be seen passing over the robe.  
  
"On ze mark of zree," Fleur whispered, "Zree!"  
  
They ripped the robe out of the pond. Water seeped through the material of Harry's robe until all that was left was three fish flopping around and gasping for breath.  
  
"We did it!" Fleur cried.  
  
They wrapped the fish up in the robe and waded out of the pond. One of the three fish turned out to be too small to even eat, so they dropped it gently back into the water. It swan away nervously back among its brothers.  
  
They built another fire much the same way they had done the night before. They impaled the two fish onto long, sharp branches and stabbed the branches into the soft ground at an angle to the fire. In no time the smell of freshly cooking fish wafted into the air. Fat cooked off the fish and landed in the fire with a sizzle.  
  
"We should really concentrate on finding a way 'ome once we are done 'ere," Fleur mused quietly as she watch the fish cook.  
  
"Yeah, I know, I had almost forgotten myself," Harry realized.  
  
When the fish were a golden brown they pulled them away from the fire. They forewent ettiquette again and bit into the fish off the end of the sticks. They tasted as good as the fruit from the trees and in no time there was nothing left but two fishy skeletons.  
  
"Just give me a minute Fleur and we'll head out," Harry said, rubbing a hand over his swollen belly.  
  
"I zink our safest bet is to keep following the road," Fleur said, craning her neck to look down into the direction they would be heading, "I'm sure there's a town or somezing in zat direction. I zink I saw someone earlier, but zen again it might not 'ave been a person at all."  
  
But Fleur wasn't talking to Harry anymore. He was fast asleep next to her.  
  
"Great, we are never getting 'ome." 


	4. End to End

**Vana'diel Potter  
**A Fanfic by Viral Inque  
Author's Note: Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback on this story. I'm as happy with that as with the way the story is developing. I hope I can keep up with it. I haven't updated recently cause I was on vacation and stuff, but I promise to stay on top of things from now on. I think you'll be pleased with this chapter. Please keep the feedback coming, and enjoy.

Chapter IV: End to End

If Harry had been uncomfortable before, he was truly miserable now. He hadn't even noticed himself falling into a peaceful sleep when a fruit gourd full of cold water had hit him in the face. He was still tired, but now he was also cold and wet. To top it off, Fleur had decided to bring a piece of the large pear shaped fruit with her in case she got hungry. It was kind of heavy for her, so now Harry was stuck dragging the oversized fruit along the dirt road.

Fleur seemed to have become irritated again, and was walking ahead of Harry with her arms crossed over her chest, pouting and not saying too much. Frustrated with the emotional balancing act he had to keep up around her, Harry hefted up the piece of fruit he had been carrying and flung it as hard as he could. It wobbled through the air and came to a rest impaled on a thick branch on the side of the road. Harry's back punished him for the exertion. Fleur seemed oblivious.

The landscape hadn't changed much in the last few hours. It all seemed endless. Harry was optimistic about one thing he had seen just a little while ago. Some sort of flying ship, looking only a little like a blimp, had flown above them. There had been the roar of dozens of spinning propellers and the sharp blast of a shrill horn. It didn't at all look like a blimp as Harry had known them to look, if it was that at all, but it was a sign that there may be some sort of civilized society somewhere.

Harry escaped to thoughts of Hogwart's, where right about now his friends would be sitting down to lunch in the Great Hall. He longed to be back there. It felt like he'd been in this strange place for weeks. He got so lost in his own thoughts, he barely noticed the man standing by a tree to the side of the road.

Fleur continued to walk gloomily down the dusty path. "Fleur?" Harry called to her as he eyed the man. It seemed Fleur hadn't been paying attention either, and she looked caught unaware at the sight of the strange man.

The man was very tall and thin and was dressed like he could have been a farmer, though a farmer of what Harry could only guess. He chewed on a toothpick that had been gnawed to splinters. He stared down at them blankly without blinking. Harry and Fleur looked at each other uncertainly.

"Excuse me, sir?" Harry began, and the man seemed to acknowledge him ever so slightly, "Could you possibly help us out?"

"Are you looking for San d'Oria?" the man asked in a deadpan voice.

"Sorry?" Harry asked, confused.

The tall man stared down at them without speaking. He chewed soundlessly on the remains of the toothpick in his mouth. Harry looked to Fleur for suggestions.

"Yes?" she tried, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well," the man mumbled, hitching up his pants, "San d'Oria is a ways away, but you can get there eventually if you keep to this road. Just be wary of the creatures lurking around these parts. Good luck stranger."

"Is err, San whatever, a city?" Harry asked hopefully.

The man seemed confused by the question. "Are you looking for San d'Oria?" he eventually repeated, staring at them blankly again.

"You've been a great 'elp, sir," Fleur smiled, grabbing Harry by the arm, "I zink we'll be going now."

Fleur dragged Harry away from the man, and when they were safely out of earshot, added, "Let's just keep walking, zat man was creepy."

"Agreed," Harry concurred, "But he was strange, wasn't he?"

"A little too strange for me," Fleur shuddered. Her arm was still locked around Harry's, making him very uncomfortable. He tried to pull away, but couldn't think of a way of doing it politely. With a final look back to the man, Fleur let go and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's what I mean, thought," he continued, sidestepping an inch to avoid any further potential contact between the two of them, and then back after thinking about for a moment, "Are we still sure we want to go this way?"

"'Arry, and where do you suppose we would be going then?" Fleur cried, making Harry jump, "A 'ole days walk back to where we started from, so we can get eaten by an Orc?"

"So that's what that was?" Harry mused.

"I zink so. Maybe. Zat is not ze point," Fleur stated sharply, and with a turn and a whip of her long hair, continued down the road.

The rest of the afternoon, to Harry's relief, was spend predominantly in silence as they continued down the seemingly endless stretch of dusty road and thick foliage. Harry had time to miss Hogwarts and all his friends some more and he was quickly becoming homesick.

Before long the sun had begun its descend into the horizon as another day drew to an end. Despite all they had eaten, Harry's stomach eventually returned to the writhing knot it had been before as the longs hours of walking took their toll. This did not, of course, take away from the burning pain shooting through his legs and feet.

He chanced a glance towards Fleur at one point and noticed that she had abandoned her sour disposition. She looked perfectly miserable and more vulnerably than Harry had ever seen her. She looked as though she were ready to burst into tears. Harry looked away quickly so as not to embarrass her.

As the last bits of color bled away and made way for the night, Harry saw a shadow scurry across the road ahead of them. It gave Harry such a fright, he had his wand in his hand and poised for attack in record time. Fleur noticed it too and echoed Harry's sentiment.

"On your toes, 'Arry," she whispered in a shaky voice.

"I'm ready," Harry replied, squinting into the growing darkness for any sign of movement.

A twig snapped to their left, and Harry whipped around. Before he could even react, it was too late. A white light surrounded him and began swirling around his body. It was warm, and it tickled when it brushed past him, like a fourth of July sparkler. He couldn't move. He tried to call to Fleur, to tell her to run, but he was frozen in place. He was sure he was done for, but nothing happened. In fact, he felt the knot in his stomach subside and the pain in his feet cool down. If he'd thought about it, he would have also noticed he wasn't even that tired anymore.

As the light slowly dissipated around Harry, making a peculiar chiming sound, the same light began to emerge around Fleur. She had been frozen in place, watching what was happening to Harry, but now she began to panic.

"I think it's okay, Fleur," Harry whispered, looking himself over.

"You _zink_ it's okay," Fleur hissed, "Forgive me if that does not make me feel better, 'Arry."

From the light surrounding Fleur, Harry caught sight of the look of understanding dawn on Fleur's face. Whoever was lurking in the shadows wasn't trying to hurt them, but help them. He watched the light around Fleur glitter and slowly disappear. Even with everything he had seen going to school at Hogwart's, the sight was still mesmerizing. He decided this must be what magic is like in this world.

The moment the last bit of light around Fleur had twinkled and evaporated into the air, another light began to take form around Harry. This light was a brilliant emerald green that was like concentrated smog. As it wrapped around Harry, he felt it stick to his skin, making it feel clammy and damp. Then his skin began to tighten, then harden, and it seemed plain what the spell was for.

Harry could feel his skin tingling from the effects of the spell. He held his hands up in front of his face and stared at them curiously. Watching Harry, Fleur became nervously anxious as the light began to appear around her.

Once Fleur had received the effects of the green spell, they waited to see what would happen next. They stood there squinting into the night, touching at faces and arms absently, marveling at the sensation caused by the spell.

"Thanks," Harry called out when nothing else happened.

"No problem," came a voice from right next to him, and Harry felt a hand pat him gently on the back. He whipped around in surprise, but there was no one there.

They stood quietly on the dirt path for several minutes after. Harry could feel his heart pushing hard against his chest. While he tried to regain his bearings, Fleur occupied her self with poking and prodding at her skin. She'd have looked rather odd doing it too, but Harry understood exactly how she felt. It was all pretty amazing to him too. He'd never felt anything quite like it before.

"Zis is remarkable," Fleur said dreamily.

"This is magic," Harry stated, meaning it both figuratively and literally.

"Very true," Fleur agreed, "But what do you zink it means?"

"Dunno," Harry shrugged, "Guess we'd better keep on walking."

"Agreed," Fleur said, finally taking her attention off of herself, "It's not like we will be sleeping anytime soon. I don't zink I've ever been more awake zen I am now."

The rate at which their pace quickened after that point was remarkable. They were so full of energy, so invigorated by the magic worked on them, they broke into a jog and ran blindly through the darkness. There was no need to look for a spot to camp for the night. They were shooting for the city of San d'Oria.

Despite the engulfing darkness around them, they moved nimble down the path. They could faintly make out the walls of foliage to either side of them, but there was no way to avoid occasionally tripping over a large stone or stray branch. This was no cause for worry since their hardened skin numbed them to the relatively minor pain caused by it.

More then once while they darted along the path, Harry swore he heard voices mingling with the wind and sound of crickets and bats. Then there was the less soothing sound of animal moans and cries. It didn't seem enough to concern him, but the further they went, the more the noise seemed to intensify.

"Fleur, wait up a sec," Harry called, and had to repeat himself before he got Fleur's attention. It seemed to take some effort to slow down and then finally come to a complete stop.

It was so much worse then he could have imagined. When they were running, the wind whipping at their faces muted the sounds around them. Now it was clear that they had run right into a whole lot of trouble.

"Oh no, what did we do?" Fleur whispered, trying to look in every direction at once.

It sounded like they were standing in the middle of a battlefield. There was the sound of human voices, some agitated, but some sounding very casual. There were other voices too, grunts and squeaks that formed crude animal languages. But the most prevailing sound was that of metal striking metal and flesh striking flesh.

"We just have to stay calm," Harry stated, trying to convince himself more than anything else. He closed the distance between him and Fleur and stood back to back with her, "Let's consider our options."

With Harry's history of finding himself in sticky situations, his sharp mind quickly worked out several scenarios. They were still wired from the magic worked on them, so if they had to run they could, but there was no telling into what. They now knew that there was magic in this world, but they were exempt from this fact, so this had to be factored in too.

"They're everywhere," Fleur said gloomily, "But the road doesn't seem so bad, no?"

"Not that there are all that many alternatives," Harry said ironically, "But so far so good. Let's just keep it slow and keep our eyes open."

So they inched their way along, staying as back to back as they could. They held their wands out in front of them, for all they were worth. The foliage surrounding them on either side of the road finally made itself useful, making it hard for anything to see them or get to them. There was a lot going on within it though, and the brush would sway and bend and break, sometimes from very close to the road.

Soon after, Harry could feel the tautness of his skin loosening up and the strange tingling sensation faded. Harry let out a sleepy yawn and he heard Fleur moan miserably as she felt the effects of her spell begin to wear off too.

The battle around them continued and showed no signs of letting up. The road started to widen slightly, which Harry found unnerving. Eventually they came to a fork and the road split into two separate paths.

"This is ridiculous," Fleur said, throwing her hands in the air, "What else can go wrong?"

The same bamboo pole branches grew on the divider that separated both the paths. These branches swayed back and forth awkwardly. Harry and Fleur both took several anxious steps backward as a noxious, if not familiar, odor worked its way to their noses. A second later something stepped through the branches and faced them.

"Bugger," Harry cried, "You wanted to know what else could go wrong?"

"Funny," Fleur whimpered, covering her nose and mouth with her free hand and shrinking behind Harry.

The creature- which Fleur had correctly identified earlier as an Orc, let out a sickening, gurgling cackle, and took a step forward. Harry, running on instinct and adrenaline, grabbed a bamboo pole branch and pulled at it wildly. Fleur's eyes shot back and forth between the Orc and Harry. She flung her wand at the Orc, hoping at best that he might want to go fetch it. It bounced harmlessly off it's head, prompting more laughter from the beast.

Meanwhile, Harry continued to wrestle with the branch. He had all his weight on it, his feet straddling the pole, when it finally snapped in two. He jumped into action, lunging to the creature's left and catching him squarely in the knees with the branch.

The Orc seemed caught off guard and let out a howl. Harry went for it's feet next, stabbing one with the jagged end of the pole. The creature let out another howl, but was far more prepared then he had been before. It caught Harry by the hood of his robe and jerked him clear off the ground.

Harry swung defenselessly just inches from the Orc's face. The collar of his robes was choking him, and he clawed at it, trying to get some air into his lungs. The beast laughed at his expense, sending rancid air into Harry's face, making him want to vomit on top of everything else.

Spots were beginning to form in front of Harry's eyes when he heard someone scream. Then, from seemingly nowhere, Fleur was on the Orc's back. The Orc held on tight to Harry, but now he was being swung back and forth as the Orc flailed around, trying to grab Fleur with it's free hand. Through his fading vision, Harry saw that Fleur had retrieved her wand and had it clutched in one shaky hand.

"Let go of him," Fleur screamed, annunciating each word clearly. Then she took her wand and jabbed it hard into one of the Orc's eyes.

The next thing Harry knew he was on his back. He had blacked out for a second, just as he had seen Fleur's wand sweeping down in an arc for the Orc's eye. It seemed he had landed on his head, and when he shook the cobwebs loose, he noticed the most unearthly noise.

An earsplitting squeaking noise was coming from the Orc. It writhed in pain and swung it's arms around wildly. Fleur had been thrown off and was sprawled on the ground beneath it, trying to get away before she got trampled.

"I think it's angry," Fleur shouted over the Orc's screams as she made her way to Harry, "You okay?"

"Been better," Harry shouted back, trying unsuccessfully to get back on his feet, "You?"

"I'll live," Fleur smiled.

The Orc, still very much on his feet, suddenly stopped screaming. It had gotten it's stubby hands on the wand in it's eye. He groped at it for a moment until he got a grip on it, and pulled it out swiftly with a sickening popping noise. It tossed the wand aside and focused its one remaining eye on Harry and Fleur.

"I can't believe this," Harry moaned.

"Do we have a plan?" Fleur asked hopefully.

"Well," Harry said, taking a deep breath, "We could split up. We'll each take a different path. It can't get both of us. Maybe we'll confuse him long enough to get away."

"Is that all we got?" Fleur cried.

"Afraid so."

"Crap."

They backed away to the point were the road split. They watched as the Orc stumbled it's way closer and closer towards them. Harry looked at the hole were it's eye had been. It was oozing a brownish-green slime. It was also the one thing that could save them both.

"Wait till the very last second," Harry instructed.

The Orc charged at them, holding it's arms out blindly and blinking it's good eye to try and focus. It was not more then two steps away from them when the ground began to shake, like an elephant was stampeding towards them. From behind the Orc a yellowish figure came into view. The Orc turned around just in time to be deftly sliced in two by the blade of an oversized katana. The Orc fell lifelessly to the ground, his insides becoming outsides and spreading across the dry ground like slime.

As repulsing as the sight of a disemboweled Orc should be, Harry and Fleur's attention was focused on their rescuer. A large yellow bird- equal parts chicken, ostrich and possibly a horse or something or other, stood before them. It seemed to let off a faint glow in the darkness. On it's back rode a tall man with long, misshapen ears and eyes like silver. He looked like nothing less than a samurai.

"Are you two okay?" the man asked in a deep, silky voice. The bird he was riding on chirped happily.

"Never better," Harry answered, giving the bird a friendly wave, "That was pretty amazing."

"It's nothing," the man replied, waving the statement away, "We're just glad you're alright. Say, where are you guys from? I've never seen clothes such as yours."

"It's a long story," Fleur said as she exchanged glances with the bird. She took a tentative step forward, then another, until she was right next to it. It let out another cheery chirp and nudged Fleur warmly with it's beak. Fleur smiled and started petting the animal. "You might actually be able to 'elp us. We're on our way to, um, San d'Oria I think it is. Could you tell us if we're anywhere near there?"

"I reckon Quonisq here has taken a liking to you," the man laughed heartily, the sounds of battle still going strong around them, "Oh, and I'm Frou. Well, if you're heading for San d'Oria you're in luck. It's just a few miles along this road to the right. I just came from there myself."

"That's great," Harry smiled, inching his way over to Quonisq to pet it, "Best news we've had in days."

"I'm glad," Frou replied, "We'd gladly escort you there, but we're in a bit of a rush. In fact, we should really be on our way."

"Of course," Harry said, "Thanks for all your help."

"Yeah, you're a lifesaver," Fleur added, "You too Quonisq."

"Take care you two," Frou said with a wave, "You shouldn't have anymore trouble here. Just don't linger around for too long. Hopefully we'll meet again someday."

Harry and Fleur backed away, waving their goodbyes. Quonisq chirped and spread it long wings dramatically, then dashed down the path back the way they had come.

"That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen," Harry mused as he watched Frou and Quonisq fade into the darkness.

"You weren't so bad yourself 'Arry Potter," Fleur smiled, elbowing Harry in his side playfully, "You're even braver then I thought."

"Me," Harry laughed, "You were something else. You should have seen when you jumped on that thing. I was waiting for you to bite his ear off."

"Ugh, I have Orc guts all over my robes."

P.S: I don't know why the indent didn't come out... you might happen to know why that might be, please let me know... thx


	5. A Place To Start

**Vana'diel Potter**

A Fanfic by Viral Inque

Author's Note: Please, oh, please, let there still be someone out there who still cares about what happens to our two heroes. More to come.

Chapter V: A Place To Start

Slightly bloodied and bruised, Harry and Fleur wiped themselves off and continued to press on. Their pace had diminished slightly, but they were now inspired by the thought of a hot meal and a warm bed. Unfortunately, they left their wands resting by the fork in the road and had to backtrack there to find them.

The Orc's body was mysteriously missing from the scene they had left no more then half an hour ago. The pungent odor of the creature, however, still lingered. The ground was moist and sticky from its insides, which made the experience just the more intolerable.

"I got one," Fleur called out, holding something over her head in the darkness, "Ugh, no, never mind."

"I can't bear zis any longer," she continued, tossing the sticky twig she was holding into the brush, "Couldn't we just come back in ze morning."

"You know we can't," Harry scolded, "Especially since we both happen to have a special attachment to our wands."

"I know, I know," Fleur replied glumly, "But zis is gross."

"I know," Harry concurred.

For a moment they were concerned that maybe someone or something happened by and snatched up their wands. Then Fleur's wand popped up in a particularly nasty puddle of slime and guts.

"My wand will never be ze same again," Fleur whined, holding it as far away from her face as her arms would allow her, "Ugh, I zink zere are some arteries tangled in it."

"Just keep looking, alright?" Harry sighed, "We shouldn't be hanging around here for so long."

"Okay," Fleur moaned, and with a sticky flick of her wand, a faint white light appeared at the tip.

Now aided by the light from Fleur's wand, their search was made a modicum less tedious. They found Harry's wand in short order, his equally laden in muck and filth.

"Alright," Harry said, looking at his wand distastefully, "Let's go. Put your wand out. We don't want to attract any more attention."

They worked their way back and soon they made up the distance they had lost. Harry felt fatigue settling back in, but he was determined to close the distance between them and San d'Oria.

A little further and the thick brush to the sides of the road thinned out and made way for lush, featureless hills. Now they had a face to put to the sounds they had been hearing all night. All around them were men and women clad in suits of leather and steel, wielding dangerous weapons and magical staves. The fighting had died down for the most part, and now people congregated together and engaged in friendly conversation. Occasionally, an Orc or something else would pop up out of the shadows, but it would quickly meet its end at the end of a sword. In the shadows, even more menacing shapes lurked threateningly.

"At least we know we're in no immediate danger," Harry stated.

"Excuse me," Fleur called suddenly to a man in a hood, "What is everyone doing out 'ere?"

"What are we doing?" the man repeated, sounding baffled, "Well, why don't we just call it population control."

"Okay, zanks," Fleur replied.

"What was that about?" Harry asked curiously.

"Just making certain we are in no immediate danger," Fleur replied, "I'm in no mood for any more surprises."

They decided to diverge off the road and mingle into the crowds of people. It was the safest place to be, plus they could eavesdrop on conversations and learn what they had gotten themselves into without drawing too much attention to themselves. As it was, they were already getting quite a few questioning glances.

From what they could make out, it seemed everyone gathered there was hunting down Orcs. The Orcs had been trying to expand their territories, and they had been venturing closer and closer to San d'Oria. There also appeared to be a reward for those inclined to do something about this.

An interesting assortment of characters unfolded as they walked through the crowds of adventurers. There were more people riding big yellow birds, which turned out to be called chocobos. They saw a woman that was clad in all black from head to toe like a ninja. Then there was a man who disappeared right in front of them. They couldn't look in a direction without seeing something new and remarkable.

There were apparently different races of people comprising the population of the world also. It was hard to see in the darkness, but they saw silhouettes that were both too big and too small to be normal humans blending in comfortably with the rest.

"'Arry, look, a dragon," Fleur gasped, pointing at a spot in the darkness.

It was indeed a dragon. It wasn't anywhere near as big as the ones they had faced during the Triwizard Tournament, but it was the real thing. As they got close to it, they saw spiraling plumes of smoke filtering out of its nostrils and sparks escaping from its closed mouth. It trailed quietly behind a man carrying a long spear.

"I could get used to zis," Fleur said thoughtfully, waving casually to someone who had waved at them, "Zis almost feels normal."

Harry examined their surroundings. There was a certain kind of magical air to this place that was starting to feel familiar and welcoming. "Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?" he decided.

"To be 'onest," Fleur said, "I wasn't sure we were going to make it."

"Don't feel bad," Harry laughed, "I wasn't sure if we were going to make it either."

"I should zank you, I think," Fleur said, elbowing Harry in the ribs playfully, "You know, for saving my life and everything."

"I'd say we broke even in the end," Harry stated.

"I know," Fleur shrugged, "But still, you're ze clever one. It always feels like everything is counting on you. I never would 'ave thought you were so resourceful. I always thought of you as just some boy with a funny scar on 'is 'ead. I didn't zink much of you when we first met."

"Really?" Harry asked curiously.

"Uh-huh," Fleur said, "I'd been hearing about you since I was a little girl. I didn't understand it. I didn't think you had done anything special. I mean, I knew what it meant to our world, but so what? You were a baby. You were just a victim of circumstance, no? you didn't do anything to merit all this fame and fortune."

"I guess," Harry said, not sure what Fleur was getting at. He recognized the truth in what she was saying, he'd just never thought he'd hear someone actually say it.

"But you 'ave proved me wrong," she continued, "I zink I understand what everyone else does now. You really are something, 'Arry Potter, and I guess I just wanted to tell you zat."

Harry felt grateful for the darkness as he felt his face turning shades.

The rolling hills seemed to extend forever, but now it seemed that there was a lightness in their pace. They might have even been skipping without even realizing it. There was still much that needed to be done, but the worst had to be over. After what they had been through, Harry and Fleur silently felt assured that they would be alright now.

"What do you think San d'Oria will be like?" Harry asked, abruptly breaking into the silence that had spread all around them.

"Like a fairytale," Fleur said dreamily, "With a castle and jesters and wizards and a moat."

"Really?" Harry laughed.

"It's possible," Fleur replied indignantly through a smile.

"I guess it really could be," Harry shrugged, "Nothing would surprise me at this point."

Then suddenly, on the horizon off to their right, slowly appeared a walled city alight with the flames of a thousand lamps. It seemed to glow, illuminating the sky around it. It was no majestic medieval castle, but it was no less a sight, especially after the long trip getting there.

Fleur let out an exhausted laugh and dropped down to the floor, landing hard on her backside. Harry thought she sounded kind of crazy for that one second. She kept laughing, sitting cross-legged on the soft grass as she stared at the city of San d'Oria shining like the moon.

"I can't run anymore," she informed Harry when she stopped laughing, "I want to, but I can't."

"That's okay," Harry smiled, "It's right over there. Come on, let's go."

"Okay."

As they approached San d'Oria, the shapes of hundreds of people began to take shape, mingling around the two vaulted openings that led into the city. They stared in awe as they made their way closer with increasing speed. The sounds of conversation began to filter to their ears, and soon they were close enough to smell mouth-watering foods cooking behind the towering walls.

"Hi," Harry said nervously to a passing woman who waved at them. She sported a crossbow and looked like a cat.

"Wow," Fleur gasped, pointing at a hulking creature with scaly skin and fists the size of cinder blocks. He, if in fact that was what he was, smile at them politely.

Harry and Fleur both stopped in the middle of the crowd and took in their surroundings. They forwent their plan to blend in and stared in muted astonishment at the spectacle before them. Mostly everyone ignored them, absorbed in their conversations, or quite possibly because Harry and Fleur couldn't fit in more in such a motley crowd.

"Should we ask someone for directions?" Fleur finally asked.

"Not really," Harry answered without looking at her, instead focusing on a group of small creatures no more than two feet tall clustered in a corner, "Don't you want to look around for a bit?"

"Much to my surprise, ze need to see more of zis place is overriding my need for food or sleep," Fleur answered, "So where to?"

Harry shrugged and started into the city from the entrance closest to them. A tall man in a suit of armor stood on either side of the gaping doorway, which led into a closed tunnel.

"Welcome to San d'Oria, jewel of Vana'diel," one of the guards said lazily.

More people socialized inside the tunnel, hanging around in loose clusters. Their voices echoed against the stone walls. They passed by a another of the tiny doll-like creatures they had seen outside. She lifted the staff she was carrying into the air and pointed it at Harry. Soon, Harry saw a familiar white light swirling around him, and suddenly he was no longer tired or hungry.

"Excuse me," Harry said, approaching the small woman, "What did you just do to me?"

"I healed you, of course," she answered in a high pitched voice, pointing her staff at Fleur and doing the same to her without a thought, "What a strange question to ask."

"Well, you see, we're new here," Harry improvised.

"Of course you are," the woman answered, hitting herself on the head with the palm of her hand, "How rude of me. Well, my name is Clerina, and I'm a white mage. Anyway, to answer your question properly, a healing spell is a very useful spell to have. It'll temporarily relieves fatigue and lots of other ailments. Good for cuts and bruises too. Useless if you get run through with a sword though. Believe me, I know."

Harry instantly started to become fond of Clerina. He found her manner of speaking and carrying herself charming and amusing. She seemed harmless enough too, so Harry figured he'd see what else he could learn from her.

"So what else can a white mage do?" Fleur asked, apparently thinking in the same direction as Harry.

"All kinds of stuff," Clerina started, looking pretty excited to have someone to talk to, "Even bringing a person back from the edge of death. I'm not that advanced yet though. Say, are you two thinking about getting into the trade? Your clothes threw me off, but I figured if you were anything you were mages. I just got a new robe myself. What do you think?"

Clerina spun around in place and struck a pose for them. Harry couldn't help but laugh. Fleur wasn't far behind. "You look positively stunning," Harry told her.

"Thank you kindly," Clerina said, bowing to them.

"So where _do_ we go to see about learning some magic?" Fleur asked, shooting Harry a hopeful look.

"Well, you could always go to one of the guilds, but-" Clerina began, pausing for dramatic effect, "If you're really interested in learning magic, you should go to Windurst. That's were me and my people, the Taru-taru, are from. Magic is what we specialize in. And what a beautiful city! You should really come visit. We can go out on the town."

"That'd be wonderful," Fleur said honestly, "We'll certainly try."

"Oh, wait," Clerina cried, nearly jumping into the satchel resting against the wall beside her. She fumbled inside it for a while, still talking though they couldn't make out what she was saying with her head stuck in the bag. She emerged holding a piece of rolled up parchment in her tiny hand.

"This a healing scroll," she said, tossing the scroll to Harry so she could attend to her mussed hair, "Straight from Windurst. Better quality magic you see, so always use Windurst scrolls if you can. You can use this to learn that spell I used on you earlier."

"We just read it?" Harry asked, examining the rolled up piece of parchment curiously.

"Yes," Clerina said, taking a deep breathe, "Well, no, not exactly. You hold onto the scroll and picture the spell- what it does, what it looks like, anything you can think of to associate with the spell. Then you read the incantation over and over until you feel something. I can't explain it, but you'll know when you've learned the spell. Then you can use the spell whenever you need it by using the incantation. Keep practicing and eventually you'll be able to do it at will without need of the incantation."

"Thanks, Clerina," Harry said, "This should come in very handy."

"Yes, zanks, Clerina," Fleur added.

"Now," Clerina continued, slipping on her satchel, "Some advice. Always remember that magic is no substitute for a good night's sleep and some fresh mutton. That's very important. Hmm, and watch out for black magic. It can be very useful, mind you, but those black mages are some dodgy folk if you ask me. Well, I wish you two the best of luck. You're so cute together."

"What?" Harry and Fleur asked at the same time, taken aback. But Clerina was already gone, shuffling down the tunnel towards the exit.

"Well, zat sure was constructive," Fleur said, nodding triumphantly and looking happier then Harry had seen her in days.

"Sure was," he concurred, tucking the scroll neatly into his robes next to his wand.

They continued down the tunnel happily, with a new confidence that everything would be just fine. The tunnel took a sharp bend and then another and they walked out into an open plaza teeming with more people. The sound of hundreds of voices, possibly thousands all told, was deafening.

The rest of San d'Oria was built of stone, just like the walls that surrounded it, for as far as the eye could see. A concentration of people were located at a building sitting between the two entrances, where they appeared to be trading goods. Past the entrances, to the left and right were other traders, stands, and shops.

"A fruit stand," Fleur cried, grabbing Harry by his robes and pulling him in the direction of a small cart with an old woman sitting next to it. All manner of strange looking fruit sat in small crates on the cart and on the floor around it.

Fleur stopped dead in front of the cart and stared at it with a unsettling look on her face. She didn't move for what seemed like a long time. Harry was ready to ask if she was okay when he felt her hand digging into his shoulder.

"Oh no," she cried, making Harry jump inadvertently, "Oh no, oh no, oh no."

"What?" Harry asked, not picking up on what Fleur was going on about in the least.

Fleur starting digging in her robes frantically, her face distorted in a way Harry couldn't quite make out. Finally, she pulled her hand out and stuck a familiar looking coin in front of Harry's face- a bright, shiny, perfectly useless, sickle.


	6. San d'Oria Nights

**Vana'diel Potter**

A Fanfic by Viral Inque

Author's Note: Please, oh, please, let there still be someone out there who still cares about what happens to our two heroes. And this is the chapter I think you were waiting for, sort of . More to come.

Chapter VI: San d'Oria Nights

Harry could very literally feel his heart sink into the pit of his stomach at the sight of the sickle. Fleur looked like she might scream, but instead she pocketed the coin and sulked at the cart filled with fresh fruit.

"_Now_ what?" she frowned.

"Excuse me," a rather large man said as he sauntered up to them, "Might I take a look at that coin you were holding?"

Fleur looked at Harry questioningly. He didn't know what to make of the rosy cheeked man, so all he could do was shrug. After some thought, Fleur decided it couldn't do any harm, and handed the man the coin.

The man held the coin between his thumb and index finger and examined it closely. He did this for quite some time, giving the occasional introspective 'hmm' or 'ah-hah'.

"Where'd you get this, young lady?" he finally asked, turning his eye to Fleur and scrutinizing her.

"Zis woman found it," Fleur lied instinctively, coming off as very convincing, "In a cave near, um, Windurst. She said she 'ad no use for it and zat we could 'ave it if we want."

"Windurst, huh?" the man said in the same thoughtful manner he seemed to do everything, "I've never seen anything like it. You see, I have this friend who's a fanatic for old and rare coins. Collects them for whatever strange reason. If you'd be willing to part with this, maybe we could both make us a little money."

"How much?" Harry asked, though it hardly mattered one way or another.

"What do you say to ten gil?" the man pitched, scratching his chin, "I doubt we can be sure how much it's really worth, but it's really not worth anything to you just sitting in your pocket, right?"

"What if we had more?" Harry asked, digging in his robes, finding two sickles, five knuts, and one galleon. He snuck the galleon back into his pocket, just in case, and handed the man the rest.

The man went about examining the coins again, paying special attention to the newly introduced knut. "Same deal. Ten a piece. I'll take them all. Don't you worry, I'll make my money back on them."

This was hardly a problem. Fleur found another sickle and two more knuts in her robes. All together it came to four sickles and seven knuts, or a hundred and ten gil. Harry silently hoped that would at least buy them breakfast. They exchanged the coins for a different set of coins. After Harry had counted their gil, they said their goodbyes to the man and parted ways.

Harry examined the coins. They were square and had a bird engraved on one side with some strange writing encircling it. On the other side there was a numeric value- one gil, five gil, and so on. The coins increased in size slightly depending on the value.

"Zat was a lucky break," Fleur said when the man was out of sight, "But I don't exactly feel at ease yet."

"Yeah," Harry smiled, "I was thinking the same thing."

They walked back to the fruit stand. Harry grabbed two small, star shaped fruit and two that looked like they might have been kiwis in a past life.

"How much for these?" he asked the old woman stooped over the chair next to the cart. The woman must have been dozing, because she snapped to attention with a start.

"That'll be twelve gil, son," the woman said, squinting hard at the fruit in Harry's hand.

Harry counted out the money and handed it to the woman. Fleur let out a long, relieved sigh. They not only had money now, but they had enough money to actually survive off of, at least for a little while.

They found a place to sit nearby, on a bench in front of a weapon shop. They looked at the weapons displayed in the window as they enjoyed their fruit. There were all types of swords and daggers, and even an oddly shaped gun. They all had weird names like The Blood Reaper or The Vengeance Seeker.

"I zink our luck may be changing for ze better," Fleur smiled as she tossed a pit from one of the fruit aside and licked her lips in delight.

"Yeah, we sure needed a break, and we've had two in the last hour," Harry agreed, licking the sticky, sweet fruit juice off his fingers.

"Now all I need is a bath and a bed and I can die 'appy," Fleur smiled, getting lost in the idea of it.

"Agreed," Harry agreed again, but added, "Just don't forget we still have to figure out how to get home."

"Right, I 'ad almost forgotten," Fleur said glumly, surprising Harry slightly and actually making him feel kind of bad.

"But we can worry about that tomorrow," he said, trying to make up for his previous statement, "Let's look around some more."

They walked around with no particular goal in mind. San d'Oria turned out to be far bigger then it looked from the outside, full of labyrinthine alleys and buildings to get lost in. It was a metropolis trapped in a hole in time and space, filled to the brim with people and sights to be seen. There were street performers, beggars, merchants selling tonics and potions to cure anything and everything, and shady con artists that might slit your throat for five gil, and that was probably just the tip of the iceberg.

They walked around for time untold, until fatigue started to creep into their bodies once again and they had to consider where there were going to stay for the night even as the night sky started to lighten. There was still much of the city they had yet to see. In fact, it could possibly take days to see the whole city, while still finding something new at every turn.

"Ah, zis is like no place imaginable," Fleur said as they rested at another bench in another part of the city with a fountain in the center of a plaza.

"It's endless," Harry added, "I wonder what else there is to see?"

"Do you zink we can ride a chocobo tomorrow?" Fleur asked excited, thinking of the stables they had found earlier, full of stalls with the big yellow birds.

"Yeah, I think I'd like to stay here at least one more day," Harry replied, deliberately trying to forget about going home and instead trying to make the most of their current situation, "We have to see how much money we have left by then, though."

"I zink we'll be alright," Fleur said, staring up at the sky pensively, "Zere appeared to be a lot of ways for a person to make some money, even for us."

"I just hope it's not shoveling chocobo poop," Harry laughed.

"Yeah," Fleur chuckled, "But I zink it's time for us to call it a night for now."

"I think it was that way," Harry said, pointing in the direction of where he thought they had seen the residential district, and they sluggishly headed in that direction.

By now the crowds had started to thin ever so slightly, thought there were still great masses of people wandering around the city. The concentration increased as they got closer to the residential district. Through the throng, they saw a small gate were people were trying to squeeze in and out of, and beyond that rows upon rows of small buildings lined up tightly together.

A sign directed then to a table sitting to the side of the gate under a bright tent. A guard sat in a chair at the table, sleeping quietly. Harry cleared his throat loudly to get his attention. The guard slowly came to and looked at then lazily.

"What?" he asked, annoyed.

"How much is it for a room?" Harry asked, flipping the gil in his pocket around nervously.

"How long you want it?" the guard asked, coughing up some phlegm sharply and spitting it onto the ground casually.

"Well, zat kind of depends on 'ow much it costs?" Fleur offered.

"It's forty for the night, but for twice that you can stay as long as a week if you like," the guard scoffed, "Do you want a room or not?"

Harry dropped eighty gil on the table, eager to be done with the guard, who was beginning to get on his nerves. He looked doubtfully at the meager eighteen gil they were left with. The guard looked through an enormous ring full of keys and pulled one out for them. 4227-B was carved neatly onto the key's handle. Harry mumbled an abrupt thank you and they made their way slowly through the crowded entrance to the residential district.

There appeared to only be a loose pattern to the way the building were arranged. There were no real streets, just small alleys keeping one row of buildings from bleeding into the next. Then if you moved from one row to another, the numbers on them shifted abruptly. Finally, they found building 4227 all the way near the end of the cavernous residential district, mostly by chance.

The first thing they came to when they walked in was a small living area with tables and chairs strewn around it randomly, like a make-shift bed and breakfast. Several of these were occupied by individuals either eating or drinking, supplied from a bar in one corner. There was a man wearing an apron, presumably the barkeep and the cook, roaming around the room attending to the customers. On the far wall there was a fireplace, and to it's left was a staircase.

There were three floors to the building, and four rooms on each floor. The landing on the second floor was barely big enough to fit the four doors to the rooms on it. They had no problem finding theirs.

There wasn't much to the place. There was a window and a shabby rug and a coat stand. A table with two chairs, and a lamp which provided all the light for the room. A copper bath to one side, separated by a tattered folding partition. And there was an end table on either side of the only bed in the room.

"There's only one bed," Harry chuckled in spite of himself.

"Zere's only one bed," Fleur sighed, not seeming the least bit surprised, "So much for our run of luck."

"Ladies first," Harry said, gesturing towards the tub.

"Zanks," she said gratefully.

Harry sat on the edge of the bed facing away from the tub while Fleur took her bath. He tried to occupy his mind with thinking about something else. This was no difficult task, since the soft, albeit lumpy, bed was beckoning him to lay on it.

"So what do you zink we should do tomorrow, 'Arry?" Fleur called from the other side of the partition.

"I thought you wanted to ride a chocobo?" Harry asked.

"About going 'ome, I mean," she sighed, as if the bath had awoken her sensibilities.

"I really don't know," Harry shrugged. Apparently, Fleur didn't have any clever ideas either, because they both fell silent after that.

Eventually, Fleur emerged from the tub. She was still wearing her skirt, which had managed to remain reasonably tidy thanks to her robes, but she had shed down to a clean light blue t-shirt with the Beauxbaton's coat of arms emblazed on it in glittering silver. The shirt was an eerie match to her crystal blue eyes and silvery blonde hair, which was now held together in one long wet braid going down her back.

"We need to do something about our clothes," Fleur said glumly.

"I don't think they have a dry cleaners in San d'Oria," Harry offered, trying to sound clever. Fleur didn't find it the least bit funny. Harry, looking at his own mud and grime caked clothes, and didn't really find it funny either.

There appeared to be some sort of working sewer system in San d'Oria, so Harry was able to run himself a nice hot bath to compensate somewhat for his pathetic looking clothes. His robes had taken the majority of the punishment from the last couple of days as well, but the legs of his pants were in serious need of some care. The bath was exquisite nonetheless, and he might have stayed in it for hours, but a thick film of grime quickly accumulated on the top of the water.

He emerged wearing his own Hogwart's t-shirt matching his house colors. He couldn't help but still feel dirty wearing the same dirty pants, but there was nothing he could do for now. Besides, he had another matter to attend to.

Fleur had made herself comfortable on the bed, propped up with a pillow against the headboard staring out the murky window, her bare toes wiggling contently.

"I was zinking we could take turns sleeping on ze bed," Fleur said when she noticed Harry had exited the tub.

"No, you take the bed" Harry decided, not entirely happy about it, but sure it was the only polite thing to do, "I wouldn't feel right having you sleep on the floor."

"Are you sure?" Fleur asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Harry said, grabbing a pillow off the bed, "It's not the first time I've slept on the floor."

The moth eaten throw rug laying defeated at the foot of the bed seemed like the safest bet. It smelled musty and old, but wasn't altogether that uncomfortable. Once situated, Harry reached over to the table and shut down the flame of the lamp with a poof and a puff of smoke, then the room went dark, save a thin ray of dirty lamplight seeping in from outside.

"Good night," Harry called to Fleur through the dark.

"Good night, 'Arry," Fleur replied, and the room fell silent as well.

Harry tried to think of a plan. It felt like they'd done so much and come so far, but all they'd managed to do was survive for the last few days. They were still as close to getting home as the moment they first found themselves in San d'Oria. They had no leads, no information, and they'd be spending at least the next couple of days working to keep their stomachs full.

His normally resourceful mind failed him and he wished more then anything that Hermoine were there to offer one of her know-it-all opinions on the matter. He'd have settled for Ron just for emotional support. Laying on the cold, hard floor even made him think about the Dursley's and his time at number 4 Privett Drive. He began trying to get that out of his head when Fleur called to him.

"'Arry, are you still awake?" she whispered.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Get into bed with me," she replied quietly.

"What?" Harry asked dreamily, then, in a wheezy kind of whisper, added, "What?"

"Come on, I can't very well let you sleep on ze floor any more zen you could let me," she stated matter-of-factly, "You've been through at least as much as I 'ave. We both deserve a good night's sleep. Besides, what's ze big deal with a bed at zis point?"

It was true. They'd been together every minute for the last two days, sleeping only a few feet away from each other. Needless to say, this did not put Harry any more at ease.

He stood at the edge of the bed, clutching his pillow like it would protect him. Fleur shrugged nonchalantly, and inched as far over to one side as she could. Harry slid onto the bed, leaving a whole half of himself hanging off his side of the bed.

"Thanks, Fleur," Harry said after some time.

"It's no problem," Fleur replied.

Harry had trouble focusing on sleeping and lay in the bed quietly for what seemed like a long time. Fleur shared the silence with him, which finally gave way to the soft sounds of her sleeping. Harry was considering moving back to the floor, sacrificing one discomfort for another, when he slowly drifted off to sleep, once again, as the sun welcomed the sky to morning.


	7. John and Yoko

**Vana'diel Potter**

A Fanfic by Viral Inque

Author's Note: Please, oh, please, let there still be someone out there who still cares about what happens to our two heroes. I'm still here plugging away. Enjoy.

Chapter VII: John and Yoko

Harry woke to the sun seeping through the dirty curtains and into his eyes from behind his closed eyelids, followed immediately by a dull throbbing drumming against his forehead. He felt around until he discovered a small knot to the left of his scar. Then he opened his eyes to find himself face to face with Fleur, who was also rubbing her head.

"Your 'ead is like a rock, 'Arry," Fleur moaned, "It's no wonder you're so 'ard to kill."

"You're one to talk," Harry smiled and tapped her on the head playfully, "Morning."

"Good morning, jerk," Fleur cried drolly and punched Harry, hard, in the chest, "Go get us some breakfast."

Harry started to protest, but one look at the crafty smile on Fleur's face told him he was going to get breakfast, one way or another. He got up and stretched sleepily, but before long Fleur's foot was nudging him along gently in the backside.

As Harry made his way downstairs, it was clear it was well past breakfast time. Quite a few people were already mingling and nursing drinks in the inn's living area. The barkeep was slumped lazily in a chair behind the counter, looking out into the room without interest.

"Hi, is it too late to order some breakfast?" Harry asked sleepily.

"Breakfast?" the man snorted, looking at him curiously, "It's five in the afternoon, son. You're too late for lunch."

"Oh," Harry replied dejectedly, quietly surprised by how late it was, "Sorry."

"Hey," the man called to Harry as he started to walk off, "Go ahead and run into the kitchen and grab you and yer friend a little something to eat. Hurry, before someone sees ya."

"Thanks," Harry said cheerfully and quickly slid behind the counter and through the door that led into the kitchen.

The kitchen was unusually clean compared to the rest of the building, which was dank and dreary. One wall of the room was dedicated solely to large wooden casks of wine. In fact, most of the kitchen was used to accommodate drink for customers, but Harry managed to find some bread and cheese and more fruit like the ones they'd had the night before. He peeked out the door to make sure no one was watching, but no one was paying him the least bit of mind.

He thanked the barkeep again and made his way back to the room. Fleur was sitting up in bed, combing through her hair with her fingers. She looked at him and the food he carried curiously.

"I thinking more in ze bacon and eggs direction," she smiled.

"We're lucky we got anything," Harry said, dropping everything onto the bed and sitting down, "It's almost suppertime."

"We should 'ave realized," Fleur shrugged, "It was already morning when we went to sleep. I'm still tired, to tell ze truth."

"I wonder if the sun rises and sets the same way it does back home," Harry said thoughtfully, breaking off a piece of bread.

Fleur reached over and pulled aside the grimy curtain and peered through one of the cleaner corners of the window, "Well, I don't know 'ow long we were asleep, but it looks like ze sun is starting to go down."

"You want to go walking around after we eat?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," Fleur replied, biting into a piece of fruit with a passing resemblance to a peach, "I was zinking we could just stay 'ere, since ze day seems to be gone already. I zink after everything we've been through I kind of feel safe 'ere, like zis bed is a protective little cocoon."

"I was kind of thinking the same thing," Harry said, "Well, minus the cocoon anyway. I mean, San d'Oria's great, but everything else outside has been harsh and dangerous. Here, at least, we know we'll be safe. For now, anyway."

"Agreed," Fleur said, "But don't you zink that we 'aven't been zinking enough about how we're getting home."

"I don't know," Harry replied honestly. He'd tried to think about it, but just hadn't been able to come up with anything. "We're trying, it's just hasn't been easy up until now. It is a unique set of circumstances we're in, after all."

"I suppose," Fleur shrugged, "I guess I just forgot to zink about it and was surprised when I did."

Harry jumped up out of the bed suddenly, making Fleur jump. He walked over to the corner where they had abandoned their filthy robes without a word and began fumbling through his robes. After a moment, he emerged holding the piece of parchment they had gotten from Clerina, the Taru-taru.

"The scroll," Fleur shrieked, bouncing up and down on the bed.

"How can we have forgotten," Harry said, dumbfounded.

"Let's read it, let's read it," Fleur cried, still bouncing on the bed.

"Calm down," Harry said, and walked back to the bed and sat down with his legs crossed opposite Fleur, who clapped her hands happily.

"I can't 'elp it," Fleur said, rocking back and forth giddily, "I feel like I did the day I learned my first charm. It's like becoming a witch all over again."

"That's true," Harry smiled, although he wasn't sure this compared to the feeling he had when he found out he was a wizard, "But we're not even sure this will work."

"Oh, shut up and open the scroll," Fleur said, nearly pushing Harry off the bed.

"Okay. Okay," Harry said, holding one hand out defensively while unwrapping the scroll with the other, "Please don't hurt me. Hey, look, it's written in like five different languages. This one looks a little like Latin, but here, this is the English."

"By ze winds zat lap across ze rambling plains," Fleur read from the scroll, craning her neck so she could see properly, "And ze light shone down by ze sun's rays. It's a rhyme, like the ones ze pagans used long ago. Words of power or something like zat. It's amazing 'ow similar our two worlds are, no?"

"Well, are you ready?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Fleur replied.

"So, take a hold of the scroll," Harry said, pointing at the scroll.

"Oh. Right."

"Now, remember what Clerina said- visualize the spell," Harry added, then began reciting.

By the winds that lap across the rambling plains,

And the light shone down by the sun's rays,

From the water that flows through mountain and man,

To the nourishing earth and purifying sands,

Pass unto me the power to heal and mend,

And place it into these unworthy hands.

After they had finished reading the incantation they both stopped for a moment and waited for something to happen. When nothing did, they recited the incantation again, and again, and then again, until they didn't have to read off the scroll anymore because the verse had already been committed to their memory. They closed their eyes simultaneously, as if the power of the magic in the scroll was guiding them. The words seemed to flow faster from their lips, until it all blended together into one continuous word.

A wind mysteriously rose in the room, swirling and spinning around Harry and Fleur, though they hardly noticed. They had begun to feel something, a tingling in their heads and their chests and their stomachs, a warm fluttery feeling that beat with a life all its own. A pale blue light, not unlike the blue of Fleur's eyes, emanated from them, illuminating the room. They were suddenly filled with a new understanding as the magic seeped into them, and then, everything became instantly still.

Neither of them moved right away. They just sat there, clutching the scroll, their eyes still closed, they breathing coming in long, synchronous waves. Finally, still working in perfect rhythm together, they both opened their eyes and looked dazedly at each other. After a lengthy pause, wide smiles spread across both their faces.

"It worked," Harry whispered, still slightly disoriented by the experience, "I can feel it."

"It's amazing, it's-" Fleur said, then, when she couldn't think of any better word to describe what she wanted to convey, added, "Amazing."

"Try it on me," Harry said excitedly.

"Alright," Fleur said, snapping to attention. Then her demeanor changed, and she looked at Harry curiously. "But wait. 'Ow am I supposed to do it? Clerina had used 'er staff. We don't 'ave one of zose."

Harry thought about this for a moment. "Use your wand," he decided, "It's pretty much the equivalent of a staff, right?"

"Alright," Fleur said, reaching over to the end table where her wand lay. She focused on it for a moment, then pointed it at Harry. She closed her eyes and mumbled the incantation under her breath. When at first nothing happened, Harry could feel his heart sink, but after a moment a brilliant white light formed at the end of Fleur's wand, blinding Harry. Soon, he felt the light swirling around him and then he felt more awake and alert.

"So?" Fleur asked as the spell faded.

"We did it," Harry smiled.

"Do me," Fleur smiled, tossing Harry his wand.

Harry pointed his wand at Fleur, and worked the spell the same way Fleur had done to him. A bright white light emanated from his wand, then began to spread and wrap itself around Fleur. Harry had to squint against the brilliance of the light, so much unlike the dim, weak light that had been coming from their wands since they had gotten there.

"Maybe it's because ze last few days 'ave sucked so much," Fleur said, giggling lightly, "But I can't remember being zis 'appy in a long time."

"You know," Harry said, "I'm starting to think we might actually get out of this."

"Me too," Fleur said, and reached forward and hugged Harry, "Let's go celebrate."

"Sure," Harry said, "What do you want to do?"

"Oh, I don't know," Fleur replied as she bounced off the bed and began spinning around the room like a top, "Let's just go out."

"Alright," Harry said, caught up in Fleur's exuberance, and jumped off the bed after her.

After very little debate they decided to abandon their filthy, and now sort of smelly, robes and go as they were. Unfortunately, it was cold enough that they needed them, so they went back upstairs to retrieve them. After a slightly lengthier debate, they decided to stick with their original plan.

The streets of San d'Oria were as lively as ever as the sun set over the stone walls of the city behind a backdrop of greens and blues and reds. The crowds and noise they created were so great in the residential district was so great that Harry and Fleur had to shout at each other to speak. They hurried out of the area as quickly as they could and into the quieter, if not more open, city proper.

"So, what do we do tomorrow?" Fleur asked when they were finally able to speak and be heard.

"All business tomorrow," Harry said after a moments thought, "We have to start finding out as much as we can about any way we could have gotten here- and how we can get back, of course. And if at all possible, we need to make some more money somehow."

"Right," Fleur agreed, "I zink we should start with all ze magic shops and 'angouts. It's safe to say zat we didn't get 'ere by natural means. And maybe we can work out something we can do to make some money zat's magic related. Zat'd be nice."

"Then it's settled," Harry stated decisively.

"Look at zat- we 'ave a plan," Fleur smiled, "Not bad for two people zat spent the 'ole day in bed."

"It _is_ nice to have a plan," Harry added, "But tonight, we enjoy ourselves."

"Happily."

They walked for hours, seeing more parts of the enormous city and checking out areas they wanted to visit the next day. They felt completely at ease in San d'Oria now, and they waved and said hello and stopped to chat with people. They hadn't considered it at the time, but this afforded them a great opportunity to learn more about their surroundings.

A lot of what they heard didn't make much sense on it's own, but there was also a lot of useful stuff mixed in it. They pieced together that there were four major cities in Vana'diel- San d'Oria, Windurst, Bastok, and Jueno. They learned that the big creatures they had seen mingling around the city were the Galka, and the cat-like women they saw were Mithra. Much of the rest they tucked away in the back of their heads to figure out later, or to use in case they needed a cover or wanted to sound like they actually came from there.

Finally, they found themselves at the city's port and decided to stop there to rest, sitting at the edge of one of the docks. They watched quietly as people fished and worked on their boats and just hung around. Without warning, Fleur wrapped her arm around Harry's and rested her head on his shoulder. Harry noticed, without surprise, that he felt both unperturbed and perfectly comfortable. Without thinking, he decided to bring up something that had been on his mind all day.

"You know what, Fleur?" he said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad you're here with me," Harry said, "It's been on my mind all day. I never would have thought it, but after all these days and everything we've been through together, I can't think of anyone I'd rather be stuck in some strange world with."

"Really?" Fleur asked mildly.

"Yeah," Harry continued, "I felt kind of bad at first, not wanting my friends here more. But they're not here, so I'm glad that you are."

"Zat's too bad," Fleur said glumly, "Because I can't wait to get 'ome and away from you."

"What?"

"I'm joking, stupid," Fleur giggled sweetly, "I'm glad you're glad. I feel ze same way."

"Of course you do," Harry said with a smirk, his chin up in the air, "Who wouldn't want to be with a handsome, heroic, guy like me. You're smitten, and who could blame you."

"You'd better quit while you're ahead, 'Arry Potter. You're no good to me if your 'ead gets so big you float away," Fleur snickered and they both burst into laughter.

"In all seriousness," Fleur continued when they finally got control of themselves, "With everything we've 'ad to endure, we could 'ave easily ended up at each other's throats, zen where would we be. It's nice zat we can get along. And it's nice zat we can enjoy zis beautiful, strange, world together."

"It is nice, isn't it?" Harry smiled.

"It is," Fleur smiled back.


	8. All In A Day's Work

**Vana'diel Potter**

A Fanfic by Viral Inque

Author's Note: Thanks again for all the awesome feedback! You guys rock! I thought this chapter was cute but slowed the story down, so you can expect things to speed up. I hope I can keep updating as quickly as this one, and I got a few more stories I'm working on. As for now, I have a book to buy!

Chapter VIII: All In A Day's Work

Harry awoke first the next morning to the sweet smell of Fleur's hair in his face. He lay next to her, poking her in the eye, until he roused her from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, as well as in discomfort, making a face, then punched Harry in the arm.

"Ouch," she said, "Stupid. What time is it?"

"I don't know," Harry replied, "It looks like it's still morning. We should get moving in any case."

"Ugh, no. Still sleepy," Fleur whined with a frown, "Five more minutes."

"Come on, Fleur," Harry insisted, shaking her gently, "We got a lot to do today."

"No," Fleur said, then after a moment's thought, added, "No."

"I know you're tired," Harry explained, "We shouldn't have stayed out so long last night, but we really got to get moving."

In truth, Harry was lying. He didn't regret in the least having stayed out so late the night before. He had enjoyed himself immensely, just sitting at the docks with Fleur, talking about all kinds of things, until they finally realized that the ebb and flow of the crowds of people had subsided slightly because of the late hour.

He felt he finally really knew Fleur after their talk. They had talked about the kinds of the things you only talked about when you really bonded with a person- their likes and dislikes, their hopes, their dreams. He felt that it had cemented their friendship.

"Come on," he added, thinking of some of things they had discussed, "If we make enough money today, we can have some real food for a change. We'll go to a nice restaurant."

"Promise?" Fleur asked, smiling slyly.

"I promise," Harry said, "Assuming we can make some money today. Now get up already."

Once they were both out of bed, had a chance to stretch, and had cast healing spells on each other, they were ready to go. The sun was shining brightly high above them as they stepped outside, but a slight chill still hung in the air.

"We should 'ave washed our robes and let zem dry overnight," Fleur sighed as a breeze passed over them.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, looking at his disheveled clothes, "We could use a change of clothes. Soon, I'd say. Very soon, if at all possible."

"'Ow much work do you plan on 'aving us do?" Fleur asked nervously.

"Enough, I hope," Harry said, "We kind of _need_ some new clothes, among other things. Besides, once we figure out what we need to do to get back home, we'll probably need a means to accomplish it."

"You're right, of course," Fleur sighed, "But zat doesn't make it right."

"Sorry," Harry laughed.

They had had the good fortune, while walking around the night before, to come across the shop dealing in black magic. They had also found out, from one of the city guards, the whereabouts of the white magic shop and the magic guild. They decided to start their quest with the white magic shop and headed towards it in high spirits and with high hopes.

The shop was hard to find, even with a general idea of where it was, as it was nestled in a far corner of the city, at the end of a long, winding passage that led nowhere but there. The heavy wooden door to the shop opened with a loud creak, into a small, vaulted room. The walls were lined with shelves that held scrolls and books and bottles filled with colored liquids and odd objects. A very narrow staircase in a corner led up to a loft occupied by more shelves. And behind a cluttered counter sat an attractive raven-haired woman who smiled as Harry and Fleur entered.

"Good morning, children," the woman chimed, "How can I help you this lovely morning?"

"Well, we're not exactly sure," Harry started, his eyes roving around the room casually as he spoke, "Could we possibly ask you a few questions?"

"Of course you can," the woman replied, "What's on your mind?"

"We were wondering about, um, teleportation spells," Harry said, choosing his words carefully.

"Teleport spells," the woman remarked with surprise, "That's some very advanced magic. You're far too young to be able to learn magic like that. I don't keep big stuff like that here anyway- just you're basic spells and potions mostly. But if you want a teleport, just find yourself an adept white mage. Their usual happy to teleport you to where you need to go- for a small fee, of course."

"We don't really need either of zose," Fleur said, "At least I don't zink so. We just want to learn more about it."

"Well," the woman said thoughtfully, "I can't teleport myself, you see. Like I said, it's advanced stuff. You might want to talk to a Taru-taru if you really want to know what's what. But I'll try and help you if I can."

The woman stood up and walked from behind the counter and went to a shelf filled with books. She ran a finger along the spines of the books, from row to row, checking the titles.

"My name is Gladdia, by the way," she said, while perusing the shelf.

"I'm Harry," Harry said.

"And I'm Fleur," Fleur added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Gladdia said, turning back briefly to give them a short curtsey, "I don't get many customers. People can never find this place. That, and, most people go to Windurst for their magic. Can't blame them really. All magic comes from Windurst in the end."

"'Ow do you mean?" Fleur asked.

"Historians say that all magic started in Windurst," Gladdia said, returning to the counter with a large leather-bound book, "Have you ever gone there?"

Harry and Fleur shook their heads together. "The city itself is magic," Gladdia continued as she flipped through the book, "That's the only way I can really describe it. It's in the trees, in the grass, in the earth, and in the Taru-taru, of course. It's- it's just so beautiful. You have to go there someday if you can."

"We've been thinking about for a while now," Harry answered truthfully. They had been noticing that all points were leading them there.

"You'll love it," Gladdia smiled, "Anyway, here's some stuff on teleportation. Shows you how complex it is. You need to know about a lot of scientific principals as well as human anatomy and physics. And look at all these charts, all about the conditions needed to perform the spell and whatnot. It's really difficult."

Harry had no problem believing Gladdia's words. He couldn't make sense out of any of it, which seemed like useful information in of itself.

"So not too many people can perform a teleportation spell, right?" Harry asked.

"Very few," Gladdia responded, "It's a one in a million chance that you'll find an Elvaan, Galka, or Mithra that can cast it. Slightly more humans then that can do it. But it's mostly Taru-taru that you'll find that can teleport."

Harry and Fleur looked at each other and silently decided on their next course of action. They would be traveling to Windurst as soon as they could. With the first part of their plan complete, Harry concentrated on the second part.

"Thank you so much, Gladdia," he said, "That was very useful information. There's one more thing we'd like to ask you, if you don't mind?"

"What's that?"

"Well, it has nothing to do with magic," Harry said, "But if you knew somewhere we can go to make some quick, er, gil, it'd be very helpful. We don't mind a little work, and we're in a bit of a bind at the moment."

"I wish I could tell you I did," Gladdia shrugged, "I could use a little help myself, but I simply can't afford to pay you enough."

"We'd be 'appy to take anything you can offer," Fleur said hopefully, "We'd like to repay you for your 'elp anyway."

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Gladdia asked.

"Sure," Fleur smiled.

"It's not exactly fun or glamorous work I have in mind for you, you know," Gladdia added apprehensively.

"We don't mind, really," Harry offered.

"Well, alright," Gladdia said, clapping her hands together, "Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to want you two to give out some flyers advertising the shop. Then I have a list of things I need you to pick up for me- ingredients for potions and stuff. I can give you fifteen gil a piece for that. But if you can get that done in enough time to help me organize the back room- which is a mess I should point out, I'll double your pay. First though, we're going to have to make up those flyers. What do you say?"

"Let's get to work," Harry said.

Making the flyers took some time. Gladdia wanted to put a map on each flyer so that people would know how to get to the shop. This was all fine and good, except that the map was very elaborate and hard to copy. In time though, they had enough flyers made up to pass around and were ready to go.

"And here's the list of things I need you to get and money to get it with," Gladdia said, and handed Fleur a piece of parchment and a small pile of coins.

"I guess we're off then," Harry said.

"Good luck," Gladdia smiled, "I'll try and have a little something for you two to snack on ready by the time you get back."

"You're too kind, Gladdia," Fleur said, "We'll be back as soon as we can."

"How great was that," Harry said once they were outside, "I never could have hoped that could go so well. We still have the whole day to do whatever else we want, like working on figuring out how we're getting to Windurst, now that we know that's where we're going."

"Yeah," Fleur said quietly.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"It's just- no, it's nothing," Fleur said, shaking her head, "I'm just being paranoid."

"What?" Harry asked again.

"Well," Fleur started, handing a flyer to a woman in a flowing white robe, "I was just zinking zat maybe zat was _too_ easy. Ever since we got 'ere everything 'as been going so good. I feel maybe something bad may be on it's way."

"Don't talk that way, Fleur," Harry said, "This is a good sign, not a bad omen. I'm sure of it."

"You're right," Fleur said, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't want to get my 'opes up. Zis is going to be great. Now let's give out zese flyers."

Giving out the flyers was easy enough, with all the people always swarming around the city, but Harry and Fleur made the extra effort to do their best to help Gladdia. By now they could easily spot mages in the crowd, with their long robes and staffs, and they made sure they got a flyer. In no time at all they were out of flyers and looking at the list of items they needed to buy for Gladdia.

"Wijnruit, nebimonite, moko grass," Fleur read out loud, "It goes on and on. All really weird sounding stuff. Where are we supposed to find it all?"

"I think I know," Harry replied, "This way."

They wound their way across the city back past the magic shop and towards the center of the city. Soon they found themselves at the auction house, where the crowds of people were always the thickest. Harry stood on his tiptoes to get a look at the building and found that he couldn't. But on either side of the building was a set of stairs leading to a second, less congested tier. Harry and Fleur worked their way around the throng, keeping close to each other, and squeezed their way to the stairs.

Built into the stone city wall were a series of booths, each manned with an operator who was busy dealing with several customers at a time. Perspective buyers at the booths called out names and numbers frantically, while the booth operators noted each quietly. Briefly, everything would stop and an exchange would take place, then the action would pick up again.

"I don't know about zis," Fleur said, "We don't 'ave very much money."

"I'm not sure, either," Harry replied, "I hadn't actually thought it might be like a real auction house. This could be a problem."

They both looked around for some sort of answer and one magically appeared for them. Over by the opposite staircase was a single booth without a single person standing by it. Harry and Fleur looked at each other doubtfully, then walked over to the booth. A bored looking young man sat behind the booth. He blinked sleepily at the sight of Harry and Fleur.

"Yes?" he asked dryly.

"Why isn't there anyone at your window?" Harry asked curiously.

"Most people come to the auction house to buy rare items or things that aren't local to the area," the man said, stretching, "Me, I get stuck with dealing with all the other stuff that people are mostly just trying to pawn off."

"So, if it's zings no one wants, why is it being auctioned?" Fleur asked.

"Well, in my case, it isn't," the man said, "I sell things at a flat rate, like you're average shop."

"Well, we got zis list," Fleur said, sliding the list Gladdia had given then under the window, "Can you tell us what you can give us and for 'ow much."

"Let's see," the man said, looking over the list, "Yup, most of this falls under my jurisdiction. Shouldn't cost you too much. Wait here a minute."

The man disappeared through a panel that appeared in the wall behind him while Harry and Fleur waited. They turned their backs to the booth and quietly observed their surroundings, still able to get lost in the grandeur of it all, but mostly because there was nothing of interest in the booth to occupy their time. After several minutes the man returned, clearing his throat to get their attention, succeeding in startling them.

"There's a problem," the man said casually while placing a wicker basket piled with their items onto the counter, "Saruta cotton- it's usually pretty easy to find, even though it's found way out in Saruta Baruta, but just the other day someone was here and bought every piece up. We haven't gotten anymore since."

"So what do we do know?" Fleur asked to no one in particular.

"You may just have to ask around," the man replied, "Someone's bound to have some. Good luck."

"How could we possibly narrow down a search like that?" Harry asked as they walked away from the booth, "Who would be likely to have some cotton on them."

"A farmer?" Fleur offered.

"Hard to say who farms by looking at them," Harry said thoughtfully, "Hard to say if they farm cotton at all. Any other thoughts?"

"Not really," Fleur shrugged, "Let's drop this other stuff off at Gladdia's and ask her what we should do."

They found the shop without any problem this time. When they walked into the shop, Gladdia shot up out of the stool she was sitting on behind the counter and smiled widely at them.

"What is it, Gladdia?" Harry asked, unable to resist smiling.

"There's been two people in here already," she whispered, then did a little dance, clapping and spinning.

"Zat's great," Fleur laughed, "But zere's a teensy-weensy problem."

"What's that?" Gladdia asked, still dancing.

Once they got Gladdia under control, they told her everything they'd gotten done, finishing by explaining about how they didn't have the cotton at the auction house.

"Saruta cotton?" Gladdia said, when they were done, "That's no big deal. I wouldn't worry about it."

"No," Harry explained, "We were going to go back out and get some, we just came by to drop off the other stuff and see if you had any suggestions on where to find some."

"Don't worry about it," Gladdia said, waving away Harry's statement, "It's only one thing. Really, don't worry about it. I made some sandwiches. Let's eat."

Gladdia disappeared through a door and reappeared some time later with a large tray heaped with fat sandwiches and three glasses of an amber liquid. They sat on stools and ate at the counter, Harry and Fleur mostly keeping silent, listening intently as Gladdia happily answered every question they had about magic and the world of Vana'diel.

After they were all full and had had some time to rest, Gladdia stood, clapping her hands together, "Alright, you two ready to tackle the back room?"

Gladdia led them through the same door she had gone through earlier and into a claustrophobic's nightmare. It was hard to tell how big the room actually was, but you would have been hard pressed to make your way around the room in a single file moving sideways, which is exactly what they had to do. Four rows of shelves stretching to the ceiling were easy enough to find and identify, but not much else was. The shelves were all packed haphazardly with as much as they could possibly hold. When that wasn't enough, boxes had been piled high and deep around the shelves. Bottles and books and many other different items were neatly lined up on the floor in front of the boxes, presumably having been used and unable to be returned from whence they had come.

There was a tangible, awed silence as the three of them clustered in the entryway to the room. Harry coughed and a box by his knee went tumbling to the floor. Fortunately, there wasn't anything made of glass inside it.

"I would think no less of you if you decided to cut your losses and go home," Gladdia sighed.

"It's okay," Fleur smiled, "It's still early. I zink we can work something out."

"Now, let's no be hasty, Fleur," Harry said, "Let's give this some thought."

"'Arry!"

"Joking."

So they set to work. They took turns having one of them sit outside keeping an eye on the shop, which was kind of necessary since two of them could barely maneuver through the room. The progress was slow and the hours slipped by quickly. The best they could do was concentrate on at least clearing some of the stuff off of the floor. By the time they called it quits they had only partially succeeded, but looking back on their work as they walked out they felt a great feeling of accomplishment.

Harry and Fleur were tired and sweaty, but they hung around for a while longer, enjoying Gladdia's company as the light slowly faded outside. Finally, Gladdia was ready to close the shop up for the night. They said their goodbyes outside the shop and parted ways, Harry and Fleur promising to come back and visit soon.

"Zat was kind of fun, wasn't it?" Fleur said, stretching sleepily.

"Yeah, and not bad for a days work, I guess," Harry replied, patting the money jingling in his pocket.

"Don't forget, you owe me a night out on the town," Fleur smiled.

"I haven't forgotten," Harry sniggered, "But tomorrow, okay. I'm beat."

"Me too. Let's go 'ome."

And so they went back to the inn, talking and laughing and feeling pretty good about themselves. With a warm bed to go to and at least their next few days of survival ensured, Harry and Fleur fell asleep for the first time since their arrival in Vana'diel without a real care in the world.


	9. A Small Problem

**Vana'diel Potter**

A Fanfic by Viral Inque

Author's Note:

Chapter IX: A Small Problem

Harry and Fleur awoke the next morning bright eyed and excited to start their day. They had planned it all out loosely before they'd gone to bed the night before. They would be careful with their limited funds, but they also had every intention of treating themselves.

Their first stop was to get some new clothes. This problem had only gotten worse after spending the previous day running around getting a good sweat up. They went into the first shop they found that sold clothing and decided on something plain and simple that would help them blend in without depleting their money too much. After they were done they ran back to their room and changed.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"Uh-huh," Fleur replied from behind the folding partition where she was changing.

"Let's see then."

Fleur stepped out from behind the partition and spun gracefully in a pose. She had managed to find a powder blue tunic with a wide silver stripe running down the middle and a black belt. The tunic was pretty short so she also had on a pair of black legging. It was all surprisingly affordable, so Fleur even got a pair of boots to go with it all.

Harry had not been so lucky. After removing anything that involved tights or looked like a dress from his list of options there hadn't been much of a selection to choose from. In the end, he finally decided, with Fleur's help, on a plain white shirt underneath a beaten leather vest. This was all fine and good with Harry, and so were the boots they had chosen on. The matching leather pants were the problem. They were beginning to chafe.

"We look pretty good if I do say so myself," Fleur smiled.

"Well, _you_ look great," Harry said doubtfully, trying to adjust his pants into a more comfortable position.

"Oh, stop already," Fleur demanded, putting a hand on her hip, "You look fine."

"Well, at least we got some clean clothes to wear," Harry shrugged, and added, half-joking, "And I'll get used to the itching."

"Close enough," Fleur sighed, "You ready to go out?"

"Sure," Harry said, "What do you want to do?"

"Don't know," Fleur said, "'Ow is our gil?"

"Not so bad," Harry replied, checking the coins in his pocket with a scowl, "Let's just not go crazy."

They stepped back into the now familiar surroundings of San d'Oria's residential district, and started slowly making their way out of the labyrinth of buildings. They wandered casually, arms linked together comfortably, lingering whenever and wherever they wanted to. They took the scenic route, stopping to chat with people or even just to admire the architecture of the city, so by the time they entered the town proper they were quite hungry.

After a moments consideration, they couldn't think of where to go to eat, so they asked. The first few people recommended places that were more like taverns that served food, not unlike the living area at the inn. It took longer then they had planned, but finally they found themselves at a restaurant with a small sign on the front door that had Vijiantrue carved into it in looping script.

It wasn't glamorous or posh, but it was well lit and clean inside, which was far more endearing then the others. Everything inside was simple and unadorned, with highly polished tables and chairs made of a fragrant red wood. It was also quiet, and there wasn't a soul in the place. Harry sneaked a peek at a menu sitting at one of the tables and saw this was the place for them. He nodded at a table in the corner and they sat down.

There was an awkward moment while they waited where they sat looking at each other without saying anything. Harry shifted uncomfortably and looked absently out the window.

"We only got a few more days at our room," Fleur said conversationally, "What do you reckon we'll do with ourselves zen?"

"I hadn't thought about it actually," Harry replied, "Maybe it'll be time for us to move on. We could just head for Windurst. Not like we have to pack."

"I suppose so," Fleur smiled, "We can't stay 'ere forever, and I do want to see Windurst, but it seems fairly far."

A mithran woman had emerged from a door at the back of the restaurant and slinked her way toward them. She stopped in front of their table, pausing to scratch one of her pointed ears with a pencil she had been carrying, before looking down at them.

"Help you?" she asked, offering a forced smile.

"Can we 'ave a moment, please?" Fleur replied politely.

"Sure, just give a wave when you're ready," the woman said, then walked off and took a seat behind a counter by the front door, her tail swinging lazily the whole while.

"'Arry, are you sure it's okay to eat 'ere?" Fleur hissed, leaning in close to Harry so as not to be heard, "Zat woman 'as fur."

"You know, I probably would have gotten along just fine if you hadn't needed to mention that," Harry pointed out smartly.

"Sorry."

"I'm sure it's fine," Harry assured, though he suddenly wondered why the place was so deserted.

"Okay," Fleur said uncertainly, "Let's order."

They both decided on a dish with chicken, since it was the only meat on the menu they recognized. Before long, the woman that was apparently their cook as well as their waitress returned carrying a large platter full of food. She placed a plate in front of either of them that contained chicken slathered in gravy and a heap of oddly shaped rice, a pair of drinking glasses, a bottle of a dark red liquid that must have been wine, and a basket filled with black bread.

"Um, thank you," Harry said, "But we didn't-"

"Don't worry about it," the woman said quickly, then added with a smile, "Enjoy your meal."

The woman disappeared through the same door and Harry and Fleur were alone again. They looked at each other briefly before Harry shrugged and made for the bottle of wine. As he fumbled with the stopper in the bottle, he felt a fleeting awkwardness towards Fleur creep back into him with the formality of the occasion. He brushed this feeling off and a second later a cork rocketed across the room.

"Zis is nice," Fleur thought out loud as Harry poured the wine, "I probably wouldn't 'ave thought so a month ago, but now-"

Fleur cut herself off, scooped up her glass and held it up. Harry followed suite. "To friendship and adventure," she smiled, clinking her glass into Harry's.

"Cheers."

The wine was thick and sweet and welcome. The food was just like the restaurant itself- simple but charming. After a probing taste, they tucked into the whole spread without a word.

"Windurst is far away," Harry thought glumly after some time, resurrecting their earlier conversation, "And we're low on cash again. I suppose we don't have to go, at least not right away."

"No, I suppose not," Fleur shrugged, then stopped short, "Wait, what?"

"I said-," Harry's fork slipped out of his hand and onto his plate with a clatter. He had the sudden feeling that something was terribly wrong, but every time he tried to think of what that might be the thought skirted from his mind. "Why is that wrong?" he whispered anxiously.

"We needed to go to Windurst. Why?" Fleur said, a sickened look on her face.

"Because," Harry said, a mixture of understanding and dismay in his voice, burying his face in his hands, "We have to get back home. We don't belong here. How could we have forgotten?"

"We shouldn't 'ave forgotten," Fleur said, looking dismal, "Zis can't be right."

They looked at each other and without another word tried to think, tried to remember how long it's been since they had thought about going home, since they'd thought about the people they cared about that they had left behind. It certainly felt like it had been way too long.

"Zis is 'orrible," Fleur moaned, "God forgive me, I almost forgot what Gabrielle looks like. Wait, you don't zink-"

"We're forgetting about home," Harry stated decidedly, "That's got to be it."

"Oh, 'Arry," Fleur cried, her lip trembling, "What are we going to do?"

Harry put his hand on Fleur's, "Don't worry, Fleur. We just got to stay calm and we'll figure a way out of this. Let's just finish our food and go back to the room to regroup."

"Okay," Fleur said quietly, blinking back tears.

They finished their meal in uncomfortable silence. After paying for their food, they trudged back through the city, back towards the inn, the jovial mood that had taken them through earlier nothing but a distant memory. They didn't speak, but Harry quietly slipped his hand around Fleur's for comfort, which she took gratefully.

When they got back to the room they sat down on the edge of the bed together and continued their silent vigil. Harry still held on to Fleur's hand, running his finger along the ridges of her fingers without thinking about it, lost in deep thought. Fleur seemed unaware of this, as she was also lost in her own mind. Harry tried to think of what they should do next, but could only think of Ron, and Hermoine, and Hagrid, and all the other people he had nearly just forgotten.

"We have to stop doing this," Harry said, leaping to his feet, startling Fleur, "I know what your thinking. You're thinking about your sister, and your grandmother, and your friends, and feeling horrible for forgetting them. I know because I'm thinking the same thing. But it's not our fault. We have to focus on getting out of here."

"I suppose," Fleur said sadly.

"Come on, Fleur," Harry said, grabbing Fleur gently by the shoulders, "Stay with me. We have to think."

"We 'ave to figure out exactly where Windurst is," Fleur said weakly.

"And we need money," Harry added, making a list in his head.

"We could ride chocobo's to Windurst," Fleur said, taking a deep breath and shaking her head lightly, as if trying to bring herself back to her senses, "But zat would cost money. We could walk, but zat would take a lot longer and put us in danger. We'd need to know 'ow far we were going either way."

"Okay, okay," Harry said, beginning to pace back and forth across the small room, "Two things we know for sure- we need money and a map of some sort. Now, how do we do that?"

"No idea," Fleur shrugged, and fell back onto the bed.

"Come on," Harry pleaded, "Think."

"Well," Fleur replied, sitting back up, "We can get money, but what does it matter? We need to figure out 'ow to make more faster. Ze map is a little easier, but only slightly."

"Do you think we should split up?" Harry offered, unsure himself, "You look for a map, I look for a way to make some money?"

"I don't know," Fleur said skeptically.

"We should be alright inside the city," Harry said, "Probably."

"I'd rather stay together," Fleur shook her head, "We don't know what might 'appen to us now."

"You're right," Harry nodded, "Map then?"

"Okay."

They went back out, a slight hastening to their pace. They decided to make their way to the center of town and go from there. Once there they noticed the auction house looming nearby.

"It's as good a place as any to start, right?" Fleur said.

They pushed their way through the throng and, finally, to the second landing they had been on the other day. As with the last time, the one booth in the corner looked abandoned.

The same man that had been there before was still there, resting his chin in his hand, looking bored beyond description. He offered them an uninterested glance.

"The cotton hasn't popped up yet," he said dully.

"Actually," Harry said, trying to sound casual, "We were looking for a map of Vanadiel."

"A map?" the man repeated, "We don't sell those, but I'm sure there's a few laying around in any one of these shops."

"Thanks."

They ran back down the stairs, intensified by their desire to get their goals accomplished, and shot into the first shop they saw. They were slightly disappointed to find a large pile of maps laying about on a table in the corner. Harry handed the shopkeeper the two gil for the map and they were on their way.

"Well, that was easy enough," Harry frowned.

"Yes, but now what?" Fleur pointed out a little impatiently.

"We're going to have to ask someone," Harry said simply, "It's not crazy to want to make a little money. We wouldn't look that suspicious. There's got to be a way."

"Look zere," Fleur said, pointing to a shady looking man wearing all black, his head covered in a cowl, "If anyone would know, 'e would."

"Sure, why not," Harry shrugged.

"Excuse me," Fleur said, tapping the man on the shoulder, "We're looking to make some quick gil. 'Ave any suggestions?"

Harry glared at Fleur, but if she noticed, she ignored him. The man in black wheeled around to face them and looked them up and down slowly.

"You're kids," he said indifferently.

"So?" Harry replied defiantly.

"Can you fight?" the man asked.

"We can hold our own," Harry said impatiently.

"So go collect crystals and stop asking me dumb questions," the man said, and began to walk away.

"Crystals?" Fleur asked in confusion.

The man turned back and gave them a scrutinizing look mixed with equal parts dislike, then turned back and went on his way.

"So much for being discreet," Fleur smiled, "Maybe we weren't suspicious _enough_."

"He thinks we're mad for sure," Harry agreed, "But he'll have forgotten about us in two minutes. Plus, that was kind of constructive."

"Yes," Fleur began, Harry seeing a 'but' coming from a mile away, "But apparently we're supposed to know what zese crystals are supposed to be. So 'ow are we going to find out what zey actually are?"

"Good point," Harry said, defeated, "Let's sit and think about it a moment while we rest."

They found a random spot along the stone wall surrounding the city and sat down. Harry pulled out the map and unfolded it onto his lap. Fleur rested her head against Harry's shoulder and looked on as he traced a line across the map from one landmark to the next.

"It's so big," Fleur moaned.

"I think if we can get to this temple in LaTheinne, we can teleport to Saruta Baruta," Harry said, pointing out places on the map, "But it seems like a long way there, and even longer still to Windurst."

"So we're going to need supplies, right?" Fleur asked.

"That would be putting it very lightly," Harry answered sadly.

Silence fell over them as they scrutinized the map, and the potential scope of the task opening up before them. The longer Harry looked, the more daunting it all seemed. There were several areas along their path on the map marked with warnings, including a large orc warning at the temple in LaTheinne which was their first objective.

"What if we didn't go to Windurst?" Fleur finally asked after a long time.

"We don't have any other leads," Harry replied simply.

"No, no we don't," Fleur agreed glumly.

"We can barely eat, so we're not riding chocobos or hiring bodyguards," Harry added after a pause, "Or much of anything else for that matter."

"We should 'ave been more careful," Fleur whimpered.

"We couldn't have known what was going to happen," Harry said, giving Fleur's hand a reassuring squeeze, "Besides, we haven't even considered weapons or magic scrolls to help defend ourselves with. There's just no way we would've had enough money no matter what we did."

"So?" Fleur asked after another pause.

"I don't know," Harry answered honestly.

"Is zis going to be our last night 'ere?" Fleur asked.

"Probably," Harry nodded.

"So let's go," Fleur said quietly, getting to her feet and wiping off her backside.

"Where?"

"One more time," Fleur said, making a wide circle in the air with her index finger, "Then back to the room."

"We don't have time for sightseeing right now, Fleur," Harry said impatiently.

"We've done all we can for now," Fleur said somberly, "Let's just call it a day."

"Are you mental?" Harry said, a little annoyed, "We still have plenty of daylight left. We can scrounge up some money. I don't know how just yet, but I'm sure there's-"

"'Arry, please!" Fleur cried suddenly, looking visibly upset and drawing a few looks. She held a hand out to Harry, "Can you just do what I tell you zis one time. Please!"

"Um, alright," Harry replied stupidly and took Fleur's hand.

And once again they toured through the city, for the last time, arm in arm. It all mirrored their trip through the city that morning, or at least it might have seemed that way, but this time when they spoke about their time there it felt to them that it was in a sort of nostalgic way, as if it had all happened a very long time ago. Despite everything that was going on they couldn't escape a feeling of loss at having to leave San d'Oria; even though, or maybe because, they had only been there a short time.

On their way they stopped at a grocer and spent the last of their money on as much food as they could buy. Harry thought to protest, but then realized that it made little difference if they ran out of money then or tomorrow or even the next day, since they didn't have enough either way.

When they got to the room, Fleur quietly went about laying out a meal for them to eat on a cloth she laid across the bed. Harry watched her curiously, unsure of what she was doing, or why, but not daring to ask. Finally, she sat down on the bed, smiled at Harry, and waved him over. Fleur wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Tell me a story," she said.

"A story?" Harry repeated, giving Fleur a slightly befuddled look, "What kind of story?"

"Tell me _your_ story," Fleur explained, "Then I'll tell you mine."

Harry smiled, grabbed a piece of bread off their makeshift table, and took a deep breath, "Well, I guess it all started on my eleventh birthday…"


	10. Incorperated

Vana'diel Potter

A Fanfic by Viral Inque

Author's Note: I really, really, really like this chapter. Even I'm wondering how this is going to turn out. Sorry for the delay, I've been real busy. Thanks again to all my faithful readers!

Chapter X: Incorporated

Harry woke up tired and with the feeling that he hadn't slept for very long. A dreary night sky, permeated only by a filmy sliver of moon filtering in through the murky window confirmed his suspicions. He lay in the dark, images of his friends playing in the shadows, the silhouette of Fleur's head on his chest moving gently with his breathing.

With all the thoughts swimming around in his head, a dull throbbing had also taken up residence that even made his scar tingle irritatingly. Unable to get back to sleep and with the sun nowhere in sight, he shimmied slowly from underneath Fleur and placed a pillow under her head.

Harry poured himself a glass a water from a pitcher sitting on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. He pushed aside frustrating thoughts about how they were going to get to Windurst, let alone home, and focused his attention on keeping his memories intact. He had tried to keep a level head about the whole thing in front of Fleur, to tell himself that it wasn't necessarily going to happen the way he thought, but the truth was the idea of losing his memories had terrified him. He raised his glass to take a drink of water when something in the corner of the room glinted off the surface of the glass and gave him a start.

He took a good look, but there didn't seem to be anything, though it was hard to tell in the darkness. He instinctively grabbed for his wand and lit the tip with a word. The light was still dim and weak, but stronger then it had been. He inched over to the corner where he and Fleur had deserted their clothes, left soaking in a wooden tub of now brownish colored water. Harry's head suddenly cleared as he saw, sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans, the copper colored crystal he had acquired on the first night they had arrived.

"Fleur," Harry called, lighting the lamp that usually illuminated their room, "Fleur, wake up."

Fleur mumbled something inaudible and turned over, still sound asleep. Harry grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her gently. Fleur swatted Harry's hand away and pulled the covers over her head.

"Fleur," Harry shouted, pulling the covers down off Fleur, "Get up, this is important."

"What?" Fleur mumbled through her pillow.

"Look," Harry said to the back of Fleur's head, "I think this may solve all our problems. Well, maybe not all, but if this means what I think it means, it'll be a huge help. Will you just get up."

"'Arry, come back to bed," Fleur mumbled.

Harry looked out the window and remembered how early it must be. He looked down at Fleur and considered how difficult she could be early in the morning. He looked at the crystal in his hand, and considered its possibilities. Then he leaned forward and gave Fleur a push. She rolled and fell off the bed, landing on the other side with a hard thud.

"Ow."

"Sorry, Fleur," Harry said, looking over the bed and down at her prone form on the floor, "But this is important."

"It 'ad better be," Fleur moaned, standing gingerly.

"Look at this," Harry said, holding the crystal up to Fleur's face, "Do you remember it?"

Fleur blinked and scrutinized the crystal. "It's zat crystal. Ze ugly one. Ze ugly and smelly one you found our first night 'ere."

"Right," Harry explained, "I got it when I killed that rabbit."

"So?"

Harry gave Fleur a moment to let the whole idea sink in. As she yawned sleepily, she came to a stop looking at Harry thoughtfully.

"You don't zink zis is what zat man was talking about?" Fleur asked.

"It has to be," Harry shook his head, "Fighting and crystals. It all fits."

"Okay," Fleur said, pausing to stretch, "I'm willing to entertain ze possibility zat all zis is true. Now, with zat being said, what are we supposed to do about it now?"

"I think that'll be pretty easy," Harry said, looking around for his shoes, "Come on, let's go."

"Go?" Fleur frowned, "You mean, like, right now?"

"Yes, now."

It was fairly cold outside and a light rain had begun falling, making Harry and Fleur huddle close together against it. The weather seemed to have kept a lot of people inside, and the ones that did brave the elements seemed to do it half-heartedly. They kept close to buildings for protection until they found themselves once again at the auction house.

As if the cold and rain were of no consequence, clusters of people mingled around the area, buying and bartering and selling, business as usual.

"Should we go to the counter or ask someone else?" Harry wondered.

"I am very un'appy," Fleur muttered.

"Right then."

Harry decided to attack the problem from the opposite angle Fleur had taken the day before. He scanned the crowd until he spotted a meek-looking young girl in a corner with hair as long as Fleur's that whipped around her. She had a forlorn look on her face, but there was a quality about her that was headstrong and assertive that caught Harry's attention.

"Excuse me," Harry asked as they approached the girl. He noticed that the girl's eyes were closed, and with her arms crossed over her chest she looked oddly contemplative.

"Yes?" she asked in a light voice, looking up slowly.

"Are you alright?" Fleur asked.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, waving the statement away, "Please don't mind me. I'm okay. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well," Harry said, holding up the crystal and going out on a limb, "What do you know about these?"

"Very little I'm afraid," she said through an airy chuckle, "My brother is the one that knows about things like that."

"So what are you doing out 'ere in zis weather?" Fleur asked sourly. In the shadow of the auction house they were partially protected from the rain, but this had not stopped them from already being soaked through to the bone.

"Just thinking, I suppose," the girl sighed, staring off into the distance, "But I don't want to burden you with my problems."

"Does counting the raindrops help?" Harry sniggered.

"I know," the girl smiled, "I must seem silly, out here in the rain when I could be in a warm bed."

"Oh, I zink we can relate," Fleur said, her mood sounding slightly lightened.

"My name is Kayla," the girl said, bowing slightly, "It's nice to make your acquaintance, but I find no joy in knowing you can relate to me."

Harry and Fleur introduced themselves, but neither could think of anything particularly inspiring to say in response. Harry was about to politely excuse them when Kayla spared him the need.

"I think it would do us all better to continue this conversation inside," Kayla smiled, trying to shift the mood, "What say you two to a bowl of hot porridge?"

"Excellent," Harry and Fleur replied together.

The three of them braced themselves and made their way back towards the residential district. As they went Harry was struck by the sight of Fleur and Kayla walking together. They didn't look particularly similar, but there was a striking contrast in their long flowing hair, Fleur's silvery white and Kayla's black as oil.

Unconsciously, Harry examined Kayla's clothes. She was wearing a long gray robe with wide, open sleeves. The neck and sleeves were adorned with gold and purple embroidering of intricate designs and cryptic runes. Unseen shoes resounded loudly.

"Are you a mage, Kayla?" Harry asked.

"No- well, actually, yes," Kayla replied awkwardly, "I'm a summoner. Or I will be eventually. I'm sort of new at it, and I'm not coming along so well."

"Really?" Fleur asked, intrigued, "What does a summoner do? What's going wrong?"

"I'll show you," Kayla said, "But wait till we get inside."

They wove their way through the city until they were back in the residential district. They went in the opposite direction Harry and Fleur were used to and were quickly lost in a new muddle of unfamiliar buildings. Eventually, they came to a narrow house wedged between two others.

They walked into a dark house they smelled sweetly of flowers. After a moment a lamp Kayla was holding came on and illuminated the area. They were in a living room, full of dark, weathered furniture. Almost every available table space was occupied by wild flowers in ceramic pots of various colors.

"This way," Kayla whispered, raising a finger to her lips just as Fleur was about to say something, then pointing to a door beyond the living room with the same finger.

Kayla led them into the house's kitchen. The kitchen mirrored the living room, with dark furniture and walls to match. The flowers were also there, lessened only due to the area left open at the small, round dining table for eating.

"My brother's room is just past the living room," Kayla said, rummaging through the cupboards, "But we should be fine here."

"I suppose one of us should sleep," Fleur smiled.

"Right," Kayla laughed, "Say, Harry, could you do me a favor and get a fire going? I think we could benefit twice from that right now."

"Sure thing."

Harry got working on getting a fire going in the large cooking hearth, while Kayla shoveled ingredients into iron kettles hanging above it. With nothing else to do while she waited, Fleur volunteered to take on the task of watering all the flowers in the kitchen. By the time Fleur was finished, Harry was bringing the chairs by the burning fire and Kayla was placing bowls of hot porridge and mugs of hot tea onto serving trays.

"Zis is nice," Fleur said once they were tucked in.

"It is," Kayla agreed, "We don't get to do stuff like this as much as we'd like to anymore."

"So what happened?" Harry asked before he could stop himself.

"'Arry!" Fleur hissed.

"It's okay," Kayla said, "I have to get used to our circumstances, but I don't really want to get into it right now, though."

"Believe me, we understand," Fleur said sharply, directing a nasty look towards Harry, who could only look away foolishly. He knew the last thing they wanted to do was get into a conversation about their current or past situations.

"Um, you were saying something about being a summoner earlier," Harry said after a moment, trying to redeem himself.

"Oh, right," Kayla said, getting to her feet, putting her tray on her chair, "Be right back."

Kayla disappeared through the door, leaving Harry and Fleur alone in the kitchen.

"Kayla's really nice," Fleur said, "I like 'er."

"Uh-huh," Harry agreed, "I wonder what's going on with her and her brother."

"Leave it alone, 'Arry," Fleur said strictly.

"I know," Harry said reluctantly, "But still-"

Kayla came back into the kitchen, dressed in a dry robe, this one with red and white embroidering, and carrying a knotted wooden staff half a foot taller than herself.

"Okay," Kayla began, stopping in the middle of the room and waving them over. "Summoners have the power to call on magical creatures and use them to help them, to fight mostly. This is good for me since I can't fight myself and I'm no good at magic either. The problem is that once you can summon a creature, it doesn't mean they'll do what you say. Watch."

"Are you sure zis is a good idea?" Fleur asked nervously.

"Don't worry," Kayla replied.

Kayla began stabbing at the ground with the end of her staff, leaving marks in a thin layer of dust on the stone floor. What looked like random scratching soon took the form of an intricate glyph with runes similar to the ones decorating her robe. When she was done she brought her staff down hard right into the center of the glyph, which began glowing faintly. She closed her eyes and began muttering under her breath, so fast that a buzzing noise filled the air. Finally, she brought the staff down one last time.

Nothing happened at first, even prompting Kayla to open one eye suspiciously. The glyph suddenly burned brighter, and began to slowly lift and swirl off the ground. It spun and rose faster and faster until it magically took the shape and form of a small, furry animal. It opened a pair of bright, green eyes and lifted it's head, looking around curiously.

"This," Kayla said, waving a hand over the creature, "Is Buster."

At the sound of Kayla's voice, Buster instantly came alive, running and jumping circles around her, yipping happily. Buster was another strange hybrid of creature in Vana'diel that Harry could compare to creatures back home. Buster was something like a fox, mixed with a squirrel. Harry thought this was a much kinder mix than the rabbits they'd seen outside that had mouths like barracudas.

"What is he?" Harry asked.

"He's a Carbuncle," Kayla said, giggling in what now seemed to be a very characteristic way, as Buster ran wildly around her, "They're the simplest and weakest kind of familiar a summoner can call forth. I saw a Titan once. Believe me, if you'd seen one of those, you'd run for your lives, no matter what I told you."

"'E's so cute!" Fleur cried, on her hands and knees, coaxing Buster over to pet him.

"I know," Kayla agreed, with a hint of frustration, "That's the problem. I love Buster, I really do, but he's not a very good familiar. He doesn't have the fighting spirit synonymous with familiars. I mean, he'll protect me if I'm in danger, but usually I spend more time worrying about him getting hurt then myself."

"I see," Harry said, noticing how he was instantly endeared to the creature, "That is a problem."

"What's going on in here, Kayla?" said a new voice from the door.

"Brother," Kayla said, "I'm so sorry. I forgot you were sleeping."

"S'alright," Kayla's brother said, as he shuffled across the kitchen and worked on getting himself some breakfast, "I didn't know we had company."

"'Ello," Fleur smiled, offering a polite wave, "My name is Fleur, and zis is 'Arry."

"Hi," Harry echoed, looking out the window at the just now lightening sky, "Sorry we woke you."

"Danyon. Nice to meet you," Danyon replied, "You have a very strange accent, Fleur."

"Um, zank you," Fleur replied nervously.

"Well, I only meant that you don't sound like you're from around here," Danyon said through a mouthful of porridge, "What are you doing here in San d'Oria?"

Harry could see that Danyon was the type of person that didn't trust quickly, not that he was trying to hide it. They would have to be careful about what they said, which made Harry wonder why they'd let themselves get so easily trapped in this situation.

"We're actually here trying to make some money," Harry said, his mind racing, "We want to get to Windurst."

"Really?" Danyon asked, intrigued.

"Come on, Danyon," Kayla said, slightly flustered, "Stop it, please. Harry and Fleur are okay."

"You don't know that," Danyon disagreed, shaking his head.

"Brother!" Kayla screamed, startling everyone in the room, "Enough!"

Danyon looked up, momentarily at a loss, "I'm sorry," he said eventually, "Harry, Fleur, I'm sorry I jumped down your throats, it's just that, we-"

"It's okay," Fleur broke Danyon off, "We understand, I zink. It seems we 'ave some zings in common."

Buster had disappeared while this was all going on, and he now reappeared carrying a mouse, which to took to a corner and began to crunch on.

"Windurst, huh?" Danyon mused quietly, putting aside his empty bowl and taking up a cup of tea.

"Yeah," Harry replied, some of his caution subsiding, "To tell the truth, we haven't been having that great of a time at it."

"You got a plan?" Danyon asked.

"Strictly speaking, no," Harry said sadly, "We do have this crystal, which we're hoping might get us going in the right direction."

"That's how we got talking," Kayla offered, "I told them you'd know better then I would."

"So let's take a look," Danyon said, holding out his hand. He took the crystal from Harry and rolled it around in his hand casually.

"It's an earth crystal," he said, tossing it back to Harry.

"Is zat it?" Fleur asked.

"Oh, hardly," Danyon said, helping himself to another bowl of porridge, "For one thing, it's as good as gil. Most people without a trade learn to fight and make a living harvesting crystals. They have no real biological function within the creatures they're found in, but they're directly tied to the creatures inert magical properties. That's why crystals are so important. The magic inside them is filtered out and used to power all kinds of things, like the lamps in the streets, just as an example. That's about it."

"That's a lot more than we knew a minute ago," Harry admitted.

"So all creatures 'ave zese crystals inside zem? Does Buster 'ave one too?" Fleur asked, looking over at the Carbuncle, who was now dozing peacefully.

"Not all, but most," Danyon shrugged, "No one's sure why some don't."

"Don't tell me you two planned to go out and try to harvest crystals," Kayla cried, dumbfounded, "That's very dangerous, even close to the city, even if you're trained and well armed."

"It was all we could think to do," Harry said defensively.

"My sister's wrong to chastise you so harshly," Danyon smiled, looking at Kayla, "We're no strangers to doing the very same. We still do it when we have to, even though we know better."

"You're right," Kayla said shyly, "That was terrible of me."

"Wait, that's it," Danyon said, jumping from his seat, disrupting Buster from his nap. As he did so, Harry instantly knew what he was thinking. "Well, I don't-"

"What? Why not?" Harry asked.

"We all just met," Danyon said skeptically, "Should we really just jump at the first idea that presents itself? Any of us?""

"You have a point," Harry agreed, seeing the obvious truth in Danyon's words.

"Are you both stupid?" Fleur cried, "What do we 'ave to lose? 'Arry, after everything we've been through. And who knows what still lies ahead. Can any of us afford not to do zis? I zink we should do it."

"I agree," Kayla added.

"We're split, it seems," Danyon smiled, "But Harry, I must tell you, in my humble experience, I don't think we stand a chance."

"I think so," Harry said, shaking his head in mock mourning.

"So we're a team?" Fleur asked expectantly.

"We're a team," Harry and Danyon both said, nodding curtly to each other in turn.

"So what does this all mean?" Harry asked, approaching Danyon as Fleur and Kayla wandered off to play with Buster, speaking in whispers.

"We go out and fight," Danyon answered simply, "We'll be able to fight more, longer, and make more money together as opposed to separately. We got all day still, so we might be really successful. We'll play it by ear after that. What can you guys do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you got the crystal," Danyon said, "How?"

"We got lucky mostly," Harry said modestly, "But we can both use healing spells."

"That will come in handy," Danyon said, getting up, "But we also have to get you weapons. Eat up while I go get dressed. We'll leave straight away."

"Danyon said we'll leave as soon as he gets dressed," Harry informed the girls when he walked over to them.

"So soon?" Kayla said nervously, "Alright, excuse me, I have to go get a few things for the road."

Buster lingered in the room for a moment, nestled in between Fleur's feet, then scurried after Kayla. Fleur seemed not to notice, but only stared out the window as the sky continued to lighten, an unsettled look on her face.

"What is it?" Harry asked, though there was no need for him to ask.

"You know," Fleur sniffed, then shrugged.

"I know," Harry said somberly, "But, well, you know."

"Yeah."

"Scared?" Harry asked, putting an arm around her, as much for himself as for her.

"Very," Fleur sighed, taking a hold of Harry's hand, "I've come to find security 'ere, and to see fear out zere. But we've come zis far, 'aven't we?"

"Right," Harry agreed with the slightest effort at conviction.

"Hey, are you two ready?" Kayla asked, sticking her head into the room.

"Yes," they replied together.


End file.
